Augustin Ndindiliyimana

Augustin Ndindiliyimana (born 1943) is a former Rwandan general.

Background
Ndindiliyimana was born in Nyaruhengeri commune, Butare prefecture, Rwanda. He joined the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and, as of 1994, held the rank of Major General. On 2 September 1992 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Gendarmerie nationale.

Role during the genocide
Ndindiliyimana was falsely accused and acquitted by the ICTR of conspiring with other high-level FAR officers to plan the logistics of the Rwandan Genocide. He was also falsely accused and acquitted of the charge that in early April 1994, he informed interahamwe leaders of a plan by UNAMIR force commander Roméo Dallaire to search for a cache of weapons, later used in the genocide.

Following the death of President Habyarimana, Ndindiliyimana was one of the senior FAR officers to serve on the Crisis Committee, along with Théoneste Bagosora and Tharcisse Renzaho.

Ndindiliyimana is mentioned frequently in Roméo Dallaire's chronicle of his time as UNAMIR force commander. Dallaire writes that he "had always found his [Ndindiliyimana's] loyalties an enigma" and initially assumed he represented a moderate voice in the crisis committee.

In his autobiography, Paul Rusesabagina says that Ndindiliyimana was more of a moderate who did not seem to entirely approve of the genocide. He also notes that Ndindiliyimana was responsible for dismantling a potentially disastrous roadblock in front of the Hôtel des Mille Collines.

Arrest and trial
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) issued an indictment against Ndindiliyimana and three other former FAR officers, charging them with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and related crimes.

On January 29, 2000 he was arrested in Belgium and handed over to the custody of the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania. He is being defended by Canadian lawyer Christopher Black. . In 2011, the ICTR convicted him of failing to punish subordinates who allegedly committed crimes at two locations, Kansi Parish and St. Andre College both of which are under appeal. He was acquitted of all other charges of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. However, the ICTR judgment recognised Ndindiliyimana's “consistent support for the Arusha Accords and a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Rwandan government forces and the [Rwandan Patriotic Front] RPF his opposition to the massacres in Rwanda. and the fact that he had saved the lives of many Tutsis. The Tribunal also held that his arrest and indictment appeared to be politically motivated. He was sentenced to time served since his arrest eleven years prior to the judgment. The ICTR ordered his release but Ndindiliyimana is reportedly unable to travel find asylum.

Ndindiliyimana's lawyer has appealed the convictions for failing to punish and expects a positive outcome for a man who did all he could to save the lives of Tutsis in 1994. The appeal is expected to be argued in 2012.