Saturday, July 27News That Matters

Tag: France

Rwandan Genocide Suspect Kabuga to be Extradited to The Hague

Rwandan Genocide Suspect Kabuga to be Extradited to The Hague

FEATURED, Latest News, Rwanda
A UN judge on Wednesday ruled that Rwandan genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga, who has been in a French jail since May, should be sent to a detention unit in The Hague ahead of his trial.  “I hereby amend the arrest warrant and order of transfer,” Judge Iain Bonomy said from Arusha, Tanzania. “I consider that there are exceptional circumstances and that it would be in the interests of justice [to send Kabuga to The Hague].” The decision means that Kabuga, 84, is likely spend at least several months in The Hague and be brought before an international judge there for an initial appearance in his war crimes case, rather than in Tanzania as originally planned. UN prosecutors accuse the former tea and coffee tycoon of bankrolling and importing huge num...
Three Rwanda Genocide Suspects Arrested, Charged in Belgium

Three Rwanda Genocide Suspects Arrested, Charged in Belgium

FEATURED, NEWS, Rwanda
Three people accused of involvement in the Rwanda genocide were arrested and charged in Belgium with serious abuse of human rights, the spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor's office said on Saturday. The identities of the three suspects were proven by witness testimony gathered in Rwanda by an investigation by Belgian authorities. The prosecutor's office, however, gave no further details about the three suspects. Eric Van Duyse said one of the suspects was under electronic surveillance while the other two were in detention. "Two were arrested Tuesday in Brussels and the third Wednesday in Hainault (province)," Van Duyse said. "All three have been charged with serious human rights abuses," He added. According to Van Duyse, a dossier compiled by the investigating m...
Serena Williams pulls out of French Open with Injury

Serena Williams pulls out of French Open with Injury

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US tennis star’s bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title cut short in Paris with an injured Achilles’ heel. US tennis star Serena Williams’s search for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title will extend into another year after an Achilles tendon injury forced her to withdraw from the French Open on Wednesday. The American, who turned 39 this week, had been due to play Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round in Paris later, but after warming up for the match decided the injury was too severe to continue. US tennis star Serena Williams’s search for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title will extend into another year after an Achilles tendon injury forced her to withdraw from the French Open on Wednesday. The American, who turned 39 this week, had been d...
Protais Mpiranya; The Last High-ranking Rwanda Genocide Fugitive

Protais Mpiranya; The Last High-ranking Rwanda Genocide Fugitive

FEATURED, NEWS, Rwanda
Accused of commanding a presidential guard implicated in high-profile murders during the Rwandan genocide, Protais Mpiranya is the top priority for investigators following this year's arrest of a fellow alleged war criminal. On the run for 20 years, charged with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, Mpiranya is the most sought of the six remaining fugitives indicted by an international tribunal into the 1994 slaughter which left some 800,000 dead. He was second on the wanted list until the arrest of alleged genocide financier Felicien Kabuga near Paris in May. France's top appeals court ruled Wednesday that Kabuga, who had evaded capture in several countries, should be transferred to a UN tribunal in Tanzania to stand trial. But Mpiranya, who is believed to be arou...
France to Rule on Fate of Alleged Rwanda Genocide Financier

France to Rule on Fate of Alleged Rwanda Genocide Financier

FEATURED, NEWS, Politics, Rwanda
A top French appeals court is to rule Wednesday on whether alleged Rwandan genocide financier Felicien Kabuga will stand trial in France or face a UN tribunal in Tanzania. Kabuga, who is 84 according to officials but claims to be 87, was arrested in May at his home outside Paris after 25 years on the run. The 1994 Rwanda genocide of some 800,000 people by Hutu extremists targeted rival Tutsis as well as also moderate Hutus. Once one of Rwanda’s richest men, Kabuga is alleged to have funnelled money to militia groups as chairman of the national defence fund. He is also accused of setting up the Interahamwe militia that carried out massacres as well as the Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines whose broadcasts incited people to murder. A French court ruled in June that Ka...
Exiled ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Claims he was Duped into Flying Back to Kigali

Exiled ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Claims he was Duped into Flying Back to Kigali

FEATURED, NEWS, Politics, Rwanda
Paul Rusesabagina, depicted in a Hollywood movie as a hero who helped save Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide, told the New York Times he believed he was flying to Burundi at the invitation of a pastor, but was instead lured to Rwanda and arrested on terrorism charges, Rusesabagina was speaking to the US daily in an interview the paper said had been authorised by the Rwandan government and had taken place in the presence of government officials. "How I got here – now that is a surprise," he told the newspaper. "I was actually not coming here." The 66-year-old Hutu political dissident and former hotel manager was propelled to fame after the Oscar-nominated film "Hotel Rwanda" portrayed him using his connections with the Hutu elite to protect Tutsis fleeing sl...
‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Paul Rusesabagina charged With Terrorism

‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Paul Rusesabagina charged With Terrorism

FEATURED, NEWS, Politics, Rwanda
A Rwandan court is charging the man who inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda" with terrorism, complicity in murder and forming an armed rebel group.  Prosecutors accuse Paul Rusesabagina of orchestrating crimes against unarmed, innocent Rwandan civilians in 2018.   Rusesabagina refused to plead to all 13 charges on Monday, including being linked to murders, claiming some of the charges are baseless.  Rusesabagina, who has been detained since late last month, is asking to be released because of poor health. The court will hear his request for bail on Thursday.  The film "Hotel Rwanda" portrayed Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager, as a hero, who protected Tutsis fleeing the 1994 genocide.   Rusesa...
Hotel Rwanda Hero Jailed in Rwanda on Terror Charges

Hotel Rwanda Hero Jailed in Rwanda on Terror Charges

FEATURED, Latest News, Politics, Rwanda
 “I’m ready to face terror charges against me,” declared ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Paul Rusesabagina this week from a cell at the Metropolitan Police Station in Kigali, Rwanda.  Rusesabagina, who faces terror, murder and arson charges, said he is now choosing his defense team to prove his innocence.  Best known for the story of how he saved 1,268 people during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Rusesabagina vanished after reaching Dubai following a flight last week from Chicago. Days later he re-emerged, wearing handcuffs, in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.  Rwandan President Paul Kagame, breaking his silence on the dramatic arrest of a prominent dissident, maintains that his government had not forced Rusesabagina to return from exile to face charges of terrorism and murder ...
Probing Of Rwandan Genocide Suspect Ntiwiragabo Starts In France

Probing Of Rwandan Genocide Suspect Ntiwiragabo Starts In France

FEATURED, NEWS
By Our Reporter The probing of Rwanda genocide suspect, Aloys Ntiwiragabo, has kicked off in France. French investigative news site Mediapart found the former spy chief hiding in Orleans, about 100km southwest of Paris. The probing came after France opened an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity by Ntiwiragabo, a top former Rwandan military official, during the country's 1994 genocide that killed at least 800,000 people. Prosecutors said on Saturday a preliminary investigation was opened after Ntiwiragabo was found hiding in the suburbs of the city of Orleans, about 100km (62 miles) southwest of Paris. French investigative news site Mediapart tracked down the former Rwandan spy chief after he was identified by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (IC...
Controversy Arises After France Rejects New Probe Into Former Rwanda President Habyarimana’s Killing

Controversy Arises After France Rejects New Probe Into Former Rwanda President Habyarimana’s Killing

FEATURED, NEWS
By Elite News Reporter Controversy has arisen after the French appeals judges rejected a request to reopen investigation into the 1994 assassination of Rwanda's President Juvenal Habyarimana, which sparked the genocide that killed over 800,000 people. Families of those who died when Habyarimana's plane was shot down, including Habyarimana's widow Agathe, will bring a challenge to Friday's decision to France's Supreme Court, their lawyers said. The appeals court in Paris had been asked to revisit a 2018 decision to throw out a probe against nine members and former members of incumbent President Paul Kagame's entourage in a case that has poisoned relations between the two countries. A plane carrying Habyarimana, from Rwanda's Hutu majority, was shot down in Kigali on April 6, 19...