Dutch judges convict Hutu man of killing Tutsis

THE HAGUE - A Hutu man was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday for the slaying of two Tutsi mothers and at least four of their children in Rwanda's 1994 genocide .

The Hague District Court acquitted Joseph Mpambara of involvement in the massacre of hundreds of other Tutsis who had sought shelter in a church.

The judges said there was compelling evidence that Mpambara ordered the two Tutsi mothers and their children hauled out of an ambulance they were using to flee violence, and then killed.

"The defendant has robbed two women and at least four children of their most valuable possession; their lives," the judges said. "The crimes this man committed are among the most serious ever to come before a Dutch court."

The judges told Mpambara that "a sentence of 20 years does not do justice to the seriousness of your crimes." Their only other option after convicting him of torture leading to death was a life sentence, which they refrained from imposing.

The allegations against Mpambara, 40, became known when he applied for asylum. Under Dutch law he can be tried for war crimes and torture committed in another country because he was living here at the time of his arrest.