A Rwandan court sentenced for-mer president Pasteur Bizimungu to 15 years in jail on Monday for creating a militia, embezzling state funds and inciting ethnic violence in a country still scarred by the 1994 genocide.
Bizimungu, thought to be in his 50s, received the sentence for threatening national security with the creation of a militia group, embezzling at least US$100,000 meant for genocide orphans and inciting ethnic violence.
He was accused of committing the crimes after he resigned as Rwanda's first post-genocide president in 2000.
He denied all the charges.
Critics say his trial was politically motivated. After his resignation Bizimungu became a vocal critic of the government and tried to form a political party.
"For the above-mentioned charges, Bizimungu is guilty of, we sentence him to a total of 15 years in prison," a panel of three judges in Rwanda's court of first instance told the court.
Prosecutors had demanded life imprisonment.
"Fifteen years in prison is a heavy sentence for nothing," Bizimungu said as he was led away by armed police.
His lawyer declined to say whether Bizimungu would appeal the ruling.
An ethnic Hutu, Bizimungu became president when the ruling Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) took power in 1994 after the genocide in which extremists from the Hutu majority butchered 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.
Paul Kagame, whose Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA)ended the 100 days of slaughter, was vice-president.
Their relationship soured, and in March 2000, Bizimungu resigned after falling out with top RPF members over the make-up of a new cabinet.
The human rights group Amnesty International criticized Bizimungu's trial, saying some of the evidence had been obtained under torture.
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