Paris – A Rwandan doctor is currently on trial in France for his involvement in the 1994 massacres in Rwanda. The trial comes after a three-decade investigation by French authorities.
Sosthene Munyemana, who is now 68 years old, appeared before the Assize Court in Paris, almost 30 years after a complaint was filed against him in Bordeaux in 1995.
Munyemana, a former gynaecologist, is accused of organizing torture and killings during the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda. During the trial, he expressed his “compassion” for the families of the genocide victims.
“This is the first time that I’ve had the opportunity to speak publicly since this affair began,” he said, wearing a blue striped shirt and a grey jacket. “It’s also the moment to think of these families.”
Munyemana, who denies the charges against him, could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty. The trial, which is expected to last five weeks, will be recorded for historical purposes.
Around 70 witnesses are anticipated to give testimony. This is the sixth trial in France involving someone accused of involvement in the massacres.
The horrific events resulted in the brutal killing of approximately 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, over a span of 100 days. The perpetrators were Hutu soldiers and extremist militias, as reported by the United Nations.
“We’re waiting for justice to be done at last,” Rachel Lindon, a lawyer representing 26 victims, said ahead of the trial.
“The more time passes, the fewer witnesses we have,” she added.
Judge Marc Sommerer attributed the lengthy investigation to various factors, such as the “need to carry out investigations abroad” and the fact that France established a crimes against humanity unit only in 2012.
In 2008, Munyemana, who had been employed at a hospital in Villeneuve-sur-Lot in southwest France for ten years, had his asylum request denied by France.
Furthermore, in 2010, France rejected a request from Rwanda for Munyemana’s extradition. His lawyers argued that he would not receive a fair trial in Rwanda.
In 2011, a French court accused a father-of-three of participating in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The accused, who was an ethnic Hutu, resided in Butare, a city in southern Rwanda, during that time.
Munyemana had a close relationship with Jean Kambanda, who led the interim government following the shooting down of the plane carrying then-president Juvenal Habyarimana. Munyemana claimed on Tuesday that he was unaware of his friend’s radicalization, as they lived in different cities and only met occasionally.
“When we met, it was more for family reasons,” he said.
“If he radicalized at the end of November 1993, I didn’t know it because we didn’t see each other again until June 19” the following year, the date which Kambanda went to his home to check up on him, he said.
A lawyer from a civil society group responded to Kambanda’s claim that Munyemana was one of his supporters.
“Just because Kambanda said it doesn’t mean we must believe it,” Munyemana said.
In a raspy voice, Kambanda assured the court that he did not hold any hostility towards ethnic Tutsis. He recounted a childhood memory of his father sheltering a Tutsi individual.
Additionally, he mentioned a Tutsi teacher who mentored him and played a significant role in his academic achievements.
Munyemana is accused of assisting in the creation of a letter supporting the interim government, which encouraged the massacre of the Tutsis.
He is also accused of helping to establish roadblocks to gather people and keeping them in inhumane conditions in local government offices before their execution.
Munyemana argues that the government offices he had access to served as a “refuge” for Tutsis seeking protection.
One of Munyemana’s lawyers, Jean-Yves Dupeux, claims that the case is based solely on witness accounts from decades ago.
France has become a popular destination for fugitives evading justice for the Rwandan genocide.
Rwanda, under President Paul Kagame, has accused Paris of being unwilling to extradite genocide suspects or hold them accountable.
Since 2014, France has prosecuted and convicted six individuals, including a former spy chief, two former mayors, and a former hotel chauffeur.
