PARIS, France – A Rwandan doctor who has lived in France for decades will stand trial in Paris on Tuesday for his alleged role in the 1994 genocide in his home country.
Sosthene Munyemana, 68, is accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and involvement in such acts. He has repeatedly denied any misconduct. He faces life in prison if convicted.
The trial takes place nearly three decades after the genocide that killed over 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus who tried to defend them between April and July 1994.
Munyemana moved to France in September 1994, where he lived and worked as a doctor until he retired.
He has been under investigation for decades. At his trial, almost 60 witnesses are anticipated to testify. In 1995, members of the Rwandan community in France submitted the first complaint against Munyemana.
Munyemana was a 38-year-old gynecologist in the Burate district during the genocide. He is accused of co-signing “a motion of support for the interim government” that oversaw the genocide in April 1994, as well as participating in a local committee and meetings that organized roundups of Tutsi civilians.
He is also accused of detaining Tutsi civilians “without care, hygiene, or food” in a local administration office “under his authority at the time,” as well as relaying “instructions from the authorities to the local militia and residents leading to the roundup of the Tutsis,” among other things.
A Suspect In The 1994 Rwanda Genocide Goes On Trial In Paris After A Decadeslong Investigation
This is the sixth case relating to the Rwandan genocide to be heard in Paris. The trial is set to last until December 19.
Many suspects fled Rwanda during and after the genocide, with some residing in Europe. Some never faced justice. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda verified the death of Aloys Ndimbati, a fugitive indicted by the tribunal, on Tuesday.
Ndimbati, the leader of a rural hamlet during the genocide, was accused of organizing and orchestrating Tutsi atrocities. He was charged with seven charges of genocide, among other things. The prosecutor’s office stated in a statement that Ndimbati died in Rwanda at the end of June 1997: “The exact circumstances of his death have not been determined owing to the confusion and absence of order at the time.”
“While the survivors and victims of Ndimbati’s crimes will not see him prosecuted and punished, this result may help bring some closure in the knowledge that Ndimbati is not at large and he is unable to cause further harm to the Rwandan people,” the statement went on to say.
According to the report, just two fugitives indicted by the tribunal are still at large.
In recent years, France has strengthened its efforts to apprehend and prosecute genocide suspects.
The highest-ranking Rwandan to receive a conviction in France for genocide and crimes against humanity was Laurent Bucyibaruta, who received a 20-year prison sentence last year. He filed an appeal.
A Suspect In The 1994 Rwanda Genocide Goes On Trial In Paris After A Decadeslong Investigation
Félicien Kabuga, an 88-year-old Rwandan genocide defendant, was found incompetent to stand trial earlier this year by United Nations judges, who said they would devise a system to hear evidence without the potential of convicting him. After years on the run, Kabuga was apprehended near Paris in May 2020.
The genocide against Rwanda’s Tutsi population began on April 6, 1994, when a plane carrying then-President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down and crashed in Kigali, the capital, killing the leader, who was a Hutu like most Rwandans. Tutsis were accused of the plane’s downing, and despite their denials, bands of Hutu extremists began killing them, including children, with the help of the army, police, and militias.
SOURCE – (AP)
