Paris court sentences former Rwandan military police officer to life in prison

In a verdict delivered on Wednesday, a Paris court declared a former Rwandan military policeman guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the 1994 massacres in his home country.

The court handed down a life sentence to Philippe Hategekimana, aged 66, after finding him guilty of nearly all charges brought against him.

Having escaped to France following the genocide, Hategekimana obtained refugee status and later became a French citizen under the name Philippe Manier.

It was reported that “This trial marked the fifth instance in France where an alleged participant in the massacres faced legal proceedings.”

According to UN estimates, over 800,000 people, primarily from the Tutsi minority, were killed between April and July 1994.

The plaintiffs accused Hategekimana of using his rank and military authority to actively engage in the genocide, an accusation he vehemently denied.

Since 2014, France has conducted trials resulting in convictions of various individuals linked to the massacres, including a former spy chief, two former mayors, a former hotel chauffeur, and a high-ranking official. However, France has generally declined requests for extradition to Rwanda, leading President Paul Kagame to accuse Paris of denying Rwanda’s jurisdiction over these cases.

Source: Agence France-Presse