French appeals court upholds 27-year sentence for Rwamucyo over Genocide

The Paris Assize Court of Appeal has upheld a 27-year prison sentence against Dr. Eugène Rwamucyo for his role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, confirming his conviction for conspiracy to commit genocide, complicity in genocide, and complicity in crimes against humanity. ALSO READ: Who is Dr. Rwamucyo - Genocide suspect to be tried soon in France? The court found Rwamucyo guilty of conspiracy to commit genocide, complicity in genocide, and complicity in crimes against humanity, thereby affirming the judgment delivered by a lower court in October 2024. The ruling follows an appeal trial that opened on June 9 before the Paris Assize Court of Appeal, after Rwamucyo challenged his conviction and sentence, maintaining that he played no role in the atrocities committed in the former Butare Prefecture, now part of Southern Province. ALSO READ: Bungled case of Genocide fugitive Rwamucyo puts France in spotlight During the appeal proceedings, survivors and other witnesses recounted the atrocities committed in Butare, while prosecutors argued that the evidence clearly demonstrated Rwamucyo’s involvement in planning and facilitating the killings. According to court records and witness testimony, Rwamucyo attended meetings where massacres were planned. He was also accused of supervising the burial of Tutsi victims and ordering that wounded survivors be buried alive or burned. Earlier this week, French prosecutors asked the Paris Assize Court of Appeal to increase Rwamucyo’s sentence to 30 years in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The request was made on July 15, as the appeal trial entered its final stage. Following the prosecution’s submissions, Rwamucyo and his defence team presented their final arguments before the court delivered its verdict, ultimately deciding to uphold the original 27-year sentence. In September 2009, a Gacaca court in Huye convicted Rwamucyo in absentia and sentenced him to life imprisonment for organising and facilitating genocidal killings. After the genocide, Rwamucyo fled Rwanda and later sought refugee status in Côte d’Ivoire through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but his application was rejected. He subsequently moved to France, where he held several medical positions. In 2008, he was employed at a hospital in Maubeuge but was suspended in October 2009 after allegations concerning his role in the genocide became public. Rwanda issued an Interpol Red Notice against him in 2007. Around the same period, the Collectif des Parties Civiles pour le Rwanda (CPCR), a French organisation dedicated to pursuing justice for victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi, filed a complaint that prompted French authorities to open a judicial investigation. In May 2010, French police arrested Rwamucyo in Sannois, near Paris, while he was attending the funeral of Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, a former senior official convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) of genocide-related crimes. Although Rwanda requested his extradition, the Versailles Court of Appeal rejected the request, leading to his release from pre-trial detention in September 2010. French authorities subsequently opted to prosecute him domestically. In 2013, he was formally placed under judicial investigation for genocide-related offences. In 2020, investigating judges ordered that he stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, a decision upheld by the investigation chamber in 2022.

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French appeals court upholds 27-year sentence for Rwamucyo over Genocide