An elderly woman pleaded with Desire Munyaneza during Rwanda's 1994 genocide not to rape her but he responded by telling her "even old women have it," a witness testified at Canada's first war crimes trial on Monday.
The witness, known only as C16 to protect her identity, wrapped up her fifth and final day of testimony by describing how several Rwandan Tutsis sought refuge from Hutu extremists at the local government office.
When asked by defence lawyer Richard Perras if she saw women being raped, the witness said she only saw women being taken away to be raped.
Superior Court Justice Andre Denis then asked, "what makes you believe they were raped?"
"One girl was taken away and when she came back, she was bleeding," the witness said through an interpreter.
"There was even an old woman that Desire took," she said.
"She was pleading with him, saying she was an old woman and he said, `Even old women have it'."
Earlier, the witness said she saw Munyaneza loading refugees into buses to take them to a fenced-in compound.
But Perras claimed that this was the first time she has mentioned such a detail to anyone.
The woman is one of 13 witnesses brought from the Central African country to testify against Munyaneza, who was arrested at his Etobicoke, Ont., home in 2005.
So far, there has been no explanation as to why the 40-year-old father of two is being tried in Montreal, since he has opted for an English trial.
He is the first person to be tried under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, and faces seven counts: two of genocide, two of crimes against humanity and three of war crimes.
He allegedly murdered, raped and pillaged during the genocide in which more than 500,000 members of the country's Tutsi ethnic group were systematically slaughtered by Hutus.
Former Olympic biathlete champion Myriam Bédard was ordered Monday to stand trial on a charge of violating a court order that set the girl's joint custody conditions. An arrest warrant has been issued for former advertising executive Jean Lafleur, who is facing fraud charges in relation to the sponsorship scandal. A citizens' rights group is taking the province to court to enact electoral reforms that are long overdue, says the group's leader The Conservative Party of Canada unveiled a new advertisement Monday attacking Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's record that will be aired shortly in Quebec. Relief teams and emergency supplies were raced to the devastated Solomon Islands Tuesday, the day after tsunami waves up to nine metres high slammed into the country's western provinces. The next 48 hours are "fairly critical" to resolving the dispute over 15 British sailors being held by Iran, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit a remote and mountainous area of northeastern Afghanistan Tuesday morning, shaking buildings in the capital, Pakistan, Tajikistan and India. An elderly woman pleaded with Desire Munyaneza during Rwanda's 1994 genocide not to rape her but he responded by telling her "even old women have it," a witness testified at Canada's first war crimes trial on Monday. People who live in the area where a train derailed and spilled sulphuric acid question whether restoring the Blanche River to a pristine state is even possible. Two skiers were killed in an avalanche in northern British Columbia on Monday. A 27-year-old tuberculosis patient has been locked up in a hospital isolation room since July after he refused to wear a mask in public to avoid infecting others. Children who suffered a head injury were twice as likely to sustain a second head injury within a year, say researchers, who advise parents to be cautious about the activities of their children, even if they seem to have recovered from an injury. Women aged 40 to 49 should talk to their doctors about their individual risk for breast cancer when deciding whether to start getting mammograms, according to new U.S. guidelines released on Tuesday.
An 18th century Stradivari violin sold for about $2.7 million US at a New York auction Monday, but while the final price nearly doubled the pre-sale estimate, it was still dubbed a "bargain."
The European Commission confirmed Tuesday it had opened an antitrust probe into Apple's iTunes and the way it sells music online in co-ordination with major music companies. Two trained Labradors have sniffed out 50,000 bootleg DVDs in their third success since being deployed last month in Malaysia's mounting crackdown on movie piracy, a senior official said Tuesday. Corus Entertainment said Tuesday it is joining in plans to launch KidsCo, a global family television channel, with partners in the U.S. and the U.K.
Units of Amtelecom Income Fund rose more than nine per cent in morning trading on the TSX after the fund said it had found a suitor to help it fight off a takeover bid from Bell Aliant. Bombardier said it has won a $481 million order from France's railway authority for 67 high-capacity trains, pushing the number of trains it will build for France to 679. A man who launched a legal battle that exposed the problems within Ontario's lottery agency died Monday at 83 — only three days after getting a letter of apology from the corporation. A pet food company is recalling treats for dogs, cats and ferrets, saying the food might be contaminated with salmonella. Reality Charity LLC's website, to be unveiled Tuesday, aims to be an eBay for fundraising that will allow donors to choose their causes and beneficiaries to make sure their gifts aren't diverted for overhead costs.
Keywords: War Crimes, Crimes Against, Crimes Against Humanity, Desire Munyaneza, Against Humanity
News RSS