Félicien Kabuga is notably accused of having participated in the creation of the Hutu Interahamwe militias, the main armed wing of the 1994 genocide which left more than 800,000 dead according to the United Nations, mainly within the Tutsi minority.
Le Monde with AFP
Félicien Kabuga, an alleged “financial” of the Tutsi genocide in 1994 in Rwanda, was able to be tried, concluded, on Monday, June 13, a UN court, according to which the accused’s trial must begin “in the best deadlines “in The Hague (Netherlands).
The first instance chamber “noted that the defense did not establish that Kabuga is currently unfit to be judged,” said the decision, while the lawyers of Félicien Kabuga had in May 2021 requested the continuation of the proceedings Against their client because of their state of health.
Arrested on May 16, 2020 in the suburbs of Paris after twenty-five years of Cavale, Félicien Kabuga is notably accused of having participated in the creation of the Hutu Interahamwe militias, the main armed arms of the 1994 genocide which made more than 800 000 dead according to the United Nations, mainly within the Tutsi minority.
Aged 87 years according to the court, Mr. Kabuga is currently detained in The Hague, pending his trial before the mechanism for the international criminal courts (MTPI), responsible for completing the work of the International International Tribunal For Rwanda (TPIR).
Different experts participated in the establishment of the file for the court, which “demonstrates unequivocally that Kabuga is in a vulnerable and fragile state,” noted the MTPI.
The opinions of independent legists interviewed diverged on the ability of Mr. Kabuga to be tried, but “their opinions agree that he had repeated acute health incidents that would necessarily make him unfit at a given time, “said the court.
permanent surveillance
The accused needs “intensive care and medical supervision”, and currently lies in a penitentiary hospital “in the light of his need for nursing care twenty-four”, -Al specified.
The judges conceded that the question of Mr. Kabuga’s ability to be judged had not been “easy to decide” and recommended to permanently monitor his condition.
It is “in the interest of justice to open this trial as soon as possible, which means carrying out the Hague branch,” said MTPI.
The specialized care that Mr. Kabuga will probably need are “not present in Arusha specifically [where the other branch of the court is located] or nearby,” said the decision.
Former president of the Free Radio-Television of the Thousand Hills (RTLM), which broadcast calls for the murder of the Tutsi, Félicien Kabuga is charged by the MTPI in particular for “genocide”, “direct and public incentive to commit the genocide “and” crimes against humanity (persecution and extermination) “.