A Rwandan doctor has been sentenced to 23 years in prison in France for his role in the Tutsi massacre in the African country in 1994.
Sosthene Munyemana, 68, was convicted guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity, and assisting in the preparation of a genocide.
The Rwandan, a gynaecologist in Tumba, fled to France months after the genocide and denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors in Paris accused him of collecting up Tutsis and stated he “couldn’t ignore” their deaths.
He also participated in a local group and sessions that organized Tutsi civilian round-ups.
He admitted to taking part in local night patrols to track Tutsi people, but claimed he did so to safeguard the local population.
According to authorities, witnesses saw him at checkpoints set up throughout town where he supervised operations.
Munyemana was also accused of detaining several dozen Tutsi civilians in the office of the local administration that was “under his authority at the time”, and of passing on official instructions to local militias and residents “leading to the round-up of the Tutsis”.
Prosecutors said there was evidence of “intentional gathering meant to exterminate people”, and that Munyemana “couldn’t ignore” that they were going to be killed.
Munyemana has been living and working in France since he arrived in September 1994, the year before the first complaint was lodged against him by other Rwandans there.
Rwanda has long accused France of “enabling” the genocide, but relations between the two nations have improved in recent years as Paris has worked harder to apprehend and prosecute genocide suspects.
This was the sixth case relating to the Rwandan genocide to be heard in Paris in the last decade.
Nearly 30 years have gone since the genocide that slaughtered over 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus who attempted to defend them.
Munyemana’s lawyers stated that he will appeal and will not be imprisoned while his appeal is pending.
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The Epetedo Proclamation of June 11, 1994, By MKO Abiola
