DUTCH MAN JAILED FOR LIFE OVER ROLE IN RWANDA GENOCIDE. (PHOTO).

 Dutch man jailed for life over role in Rwanda genocide

A Dutch court on Friday handed a life sentence to a 66-year-old man for his role in the massacre of 3,000 Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

During the violence that took place in April 1994, terrified victims sought refuge in a football stadium in Mbazi, southern Rwanda, only to be systematically slaughtered.

The judge said that the man, identified as Eugene N., prevented Tutsis from escaping the stadium and threw a grenade into the crowd.

The court said he was also involved in attacks preceding the stadium massacre, when houses were looted and set on fire.

Immense suffering

"Only a lifelong prison sentence does justice to the immense suffering that has been inflicted on the victims and the bereaved families," said the court, AFP reported.

His actions were committed with "genocidal intent," said the presiding judge handing down the verdict.

He was convicted of war crimes and the crime of genocide.

Charges denial

The suspect had denied the charges, saying he himself was a victim who had lost dozens of his own relatives in what he described as "those horrific events".

According to local news agency ANP, the defence said they will "almost certainly appeal the charges".

The 1994 Rwandan genocide claimed the lives of an estimated 800,000 people over the course of three months. According to UN figures, most of the victims were part of the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.