Sosthene Munyemana, a former Rwandan doctor, has been handed a 24-year prison sentence by a French court for his involvement in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. During this horrific event, extremist Hutu factions killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus over a period of 100 days.
The Assize Court in Paris found Munyemana, who is now 68 years old, guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to organize such atrocities. After the genocide, he reportedly moved to France, where Rwandans filed a complaint against him in 1995 in Bordeaux. In December 2011, Munyemana was indicted in Paris and placed under judicial control.
Prosecutors accused him of assisting in drafting a supportive motion for the interim government led by former prime minister Jean Kambanda, which was responsible for overseeing the killings. Munyemana is also alleged to have participated in meetings that organized the capture of Tutsi civilians in Butare, Rwanda, where he resided at the time.
The prosecutors had requested a 30-year prison sentence for Munyemana, who denied any wrongdoing but claimed he took part in local night patrols to protect the population. His defense attorneys have stated their intention to appeal the verdict.
France has reportedly become a popular destination for individuals implicated in the Rwandan genocide who have evaded justice. Munyemana’s trial marks the sixth in France involving an alleged participant in the genocide that took place between April and July 1994.
In a separate case, a 66-year-old former Rwandan military police officer named Philippe Hategekimana was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Paris court in June for similar charges. Hategekimana is said to have fled to France after the ethnic cleansing and obtained French citizenship under a false identity in 2005.
On Thursday, the Brussels Assize Court in Belgium is scheduled to pass judgment on Seraphin Twahirwa and Pierre Basabose, two Rwandans who have been found guilty of genocide and war crimes perpetrated in the African nation.
The court’s verdict on Tuesday held them accountable for numerous acts of murder and attempted murder targeting Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Kigali.
