UK: Man Charged Over Suspected Role In Rwanda Genocide

British authorities have arrested and charged a 65-year-old man over his alleged involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

The Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Monday that the suspect was charged with one count of being an ancillary to genocide and six offences of aiding crimes against humanity in Rwanda.

He is accused of directing and inciting acts of murder and genocide carried out by others during the mass killings.

“This case demonstrates the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes,” said Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counterterror policing.

The Rwandan genocide, which occurred in 1994, lasted about 100 days and claimed the lives of more than 800,000 people, mainly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The killings were orchestrated by extremists within the Hutu-led government, while local officials and civilians were also involved in the violence.

Under British law, prosecutors can bring charges for certain international crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity, even when the alleged offences were committed outside the United Kingdom.

The latest arrest is part of a wider European effort to prosecute people suspected of involvement in the Rwandan genocide.

In July, German authorities arrested a German-Rwandan national over allegations that he participated in the genocide and personally killed one person.

In the Netherlands, another man was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in attacks on homes, including an attack involving a grenade thrown at a shelter where Tutsi civilians were hiding.

The UK’s Metropolitan Police war crimes investigators began investigating the latest suspect in 2019 following a request from the Rwandan government.

The suspect, who is originally from Kigali, Rwanda, had been living in London when he was arrested.

According to former Rwandan Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama, the man entered the UK as an asylum seeker in 1998.

He was granted British citizenship in 2004 and subsequently changed his name.

He was arrested in 2006 over alleged links to the genocide, while an attempt to extradite him to Rwanda, alongside four other men, was eventually blocked by a British court in 2017.

Following the failed extradition bid, the Rwandan government urged British authorities to investigate the allegations in the UK.

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS counterterror division, said the suspect was “alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others.”

British authorities said investigations were continuing into other people suspected of involvement in the Rwandan genocide who are currently living in the UK.