Quebec's Court of Appeal has upheld a guilty verdict for a man sentenced to life in prison for committing war crimes.
Desire Munyaneza, the first person ever to be convicted under Canada's war-crimes act, was initially found guilty in 2009 for acts committed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
He was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years for torturing and raping civilians.
Munyaneza was a former Rwandan militia commander who fled the country in 1997, coming to Canada under a fake Cameroon passport and claiming refugee status.
His claim was rejected three years later, largely on the testimony of an RCMP war crimes investigator who accused Munyaneza of being linked to the Rwandan massacre.
He made two more appeals, each of which was rejected.
Munyaneza was living in Toronto when he was arrested by the RCMP in October 2005.
The trial, which began in March 2007, has been one of the most expensive and secretive ever held in Canada. The judge heard testimony from more than 60 witnesses over two years, often behind closed doors because witnesses feared reprisals.
There were language problems with witnesses flown in from Rwanda, with many having trouble remembering details of when and where events occurred more than a decade before the trial.
Costs soared to more than $1.6 million.
With time already served since his initial arrest, Munyaneza has at least 15 more years to serve in prison.
