Paris court sentences former Rwandan doctor to 27 years in prison for involvement in genocide

Eugene Rwamucyo’s trial was the eighth in France related to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which 800,000 people, mostly Tutsi, were massacred primarily by Hutu attackers.

30 years after the 100-day massacre, 65-year-old former doctor Eugène Rwamucyo was found guilty of “complicity in genocide”, “complicity in crimes against humanity” and “conspiracy” to prepare for such crimes.

On Wednesday, Rwamucyo, who moved to France and Belgium to practice medicine after leaving Rwanda, was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

However, he was acquitted of additional charges of “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” without any evidence showing that prosecutor Nicolas Peron personally committed acts of torture or extrajudicial killings.

According to local media reports, Rwamucyo has denied all wrongdoing and his legal team plans to appeal the decision.

His punishment is as follows: Former Rwandan gynecologist Sosthene Munyemana In December 2023 under similar conditions.

Many of those who witnessed Mr. Rwamicyo’s crimes had traveled to Paris for the month-long trial.

Those who came to seek justice described horrific scenes of mass graves and the wounded being buried alive.

According to the prosecution, which is seeking a 30-year prison sentence, the defendant was heavily involved in the supervision of such burial operations.

Angélique Uwamahoro was one of those who joined the quest for justice for the victims of the genocide, and many called for Rwamicyo to be given a life sentence.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Uwamahoro described how he saw the then-doctor at the scene of the massacre at the age of 13 at a monastery where the family had taken refuge from attackers.

“He wanted to provoke them to kill us so we wouldn’t make it out alive,” he said, explaining that the family later saw him inciting violence against Tutsi people near the town of Butare.

Rwamucyo continues to deny any wrongdoing since his arrest in a Paris suburb in 2010 while attending the funeral of alleged genocide mastermind Jean Bosco Baravagwiza.

He denied any involvement in live burials and stated that his intervention was merely to alleviate hygiene-related problems that might arise if bodies were left exposed.

Before the verdict, Rwamucyo reiterated that he was not directly involved in any murders, saying: “I can assure you that I did not order the killing of the survivors nor did I authorize the killing of the survivors.”

His lawyers argued that he was unfairly tried because of his disapproval of the current Rwandan government.

“He was openly anti-Tutsi and openly expressed his support for the genocidal government,” said Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer for LDH and FIDH, which are among the human rights organizations calling for justice.

The former doctor was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in Rwanda in 2009 and an international arrest warrant was issued. However, French authorities decided against Rwanda’s extradition request.