Dutch court jails man for life over role in Rwanda genocide

He was convicted of war crimes and genocide.(AFP) — A Dutch court on Friday sentenced a 66-year-old man to life in prison for his role in the massacre of 3,000 Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.During violence in April 1994, terrified victims sought refuge in a soccer stadium in Mbazi, southern Rwanda, only to be systematically slaughtered.The judge said the man, identified as Eugene N., prevented Tutsis from escaping the stadium and threw a grenade into the crowd.The court said he was also involved in attacks before the stadium massacre, when houses were looted and set on fire.“Only a lifelong prison sentence does justice to the immense suffering that has been inflicted on the victims and the bereaved families,” the court said.His actions were committed with “genocidal intent,” the presiding judge said while handing down the verdict.He was convicted of war crimes and genocide.At hearings in June before the District Court of The Hague, prosecutors urged a life sentence, saying N. was “personally involved” in the killings.“If the horrific crimes of the suspect — in which not one but an estimated 3,000 innocent people were literally slaughtered, in which the suspect personally threw a grenade into a stadium … do not deserve a life sentence, then what does?” one prosecutor asked the court.The 1994 Rwandan genocide killed an estimated 800,000 people over three months. According to U.N. figures, most of the victims were members of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority.N. denied the charges, saying he was also a victim who had lost dozens of relatives in what he described as “those horrific events.”N.’s lawyers urged an acquittal on all counts, saying their client had in fact done “everything to prevent the genocide.”“The case has torn his scars open again. He is a broken man,” one of the defense lawyers said during the trial.According to Dutch news agency ANP, the defense said it would “almost certainly” appeal.‘Multiple severe crimes’At the time of the massacres, N. held a position of responsibility in the community, overseeing about 1,000 people in Mbazi, the court said.“The suspect was a man who was held in high regard and he must have been aware of his role and the influence he had as a local authority,” the court said.“Instead of staying on the sidelines, the defendant committed multiple severe crimes,” the court added.The court said he watched from a road as his men stormed into Tutsi homes and set them on fire.He was, however, acquitted of incitement to genocide.N. fled to the Netherlands in 1998. Rwandan authorities issued an international arrest warrant for him in 2014.Under Dutch law, however, he cannot be extradited because he obtained Dutch citizenship.Dutch prosecutors opened their own investigation in 2020 and have since interviewed dozens of witnesses in Rwanda. N. was arrested in 2024.European courts have tried and convicted several dozen people involved in the Rwandan genocide under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows courts to prosecute certain serious crimes even when they were committed abroad.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads