A 65-year-old man in Britain has been arrested and charged due to his possible connections to the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The arrest took place on Monday, and the suspect has been charged with one count of aiding the genocide and six counts of committing crimes against humanity in Rwanda.
Case Details
According to officials, this is the first arrest of its kind in Britain, although authorities have been investigating the case for several years. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of the UK’s counter-terrorism police, stated: "This case shows that Britain is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes."
The Rwandan genocide occurred in 1994, during which over 800,000 people from the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus were killed in a 100-day attack. This massacre was organized and led by the Hutu majority, with local officials and ordinary citizens participating in the mass killings.
UK Laws on International Crimes
UK laws allow prosecutors to bring charges for certain international crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity, even if these crimes occurred outside the country. This case is considered the latest in a series of arrests related to the Rwandan genocide in Europe. In July, a German-Rwandan national was arrested on charges of participating in the genocide and murdering one person.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, a man was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in attacks on homes, including throwing grenades at Tutsi refugees.
The investigation into this case began in 2019 following a request from the Rwandan government. The suspect, originally from Kigali, was living in London at the time of his arrest. He reportedly entered Britain as a refugee in 1998 and obtained British citizenship in 2004.
After changing his name in 2006, he was arrested two years later due to his connections to the genocide. A UK court halted his extradition to Rwanda in 2017, along with four other men. This failure to extradite led the Rwandan government to ask British authorities to investigate the matter and take action.
Frank Ferguson, head of the counter-terrorism division at the Crown Prosecution Service, stated that the man "is accused of directing and inciting acts of murder and genocide carried out by others." Officials also announced that investigations to identify other suspects linked to the Rwandan genocide currently living in Britain are ongoing.
