(RNS) A French court has found two former Rwandan politicians guilty of crimes against humanity for masterminding the slaughter of 2,000 people taking refuge in a Catholic church during the country’s genocide in the 1990s.

Octavien Ngenzi and Tito Barahira, both former mayors of Kabarondo village, were sentenced to life in jail on Wednesday, July 6.

The Paris court said they were guilty of “massive and systematic summary executions” and genocide, the news agency AFP reported.