Dutch court sentences man to life over Rwanda genocide
The court in The Hague convicted the 66-year-old of war crimes and the crime of genocide.
A Dutch court has handed down a life sentence to a Dutch-Rwandan man for his participation in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The 66-year-old, identified only as Eugene N, faced accusations including throwing a hand grenade into a crowd of Tutsis seeking refuge in a stadium. The judge found him guilty of war crimes and the crime of genocide, stating he acted with "genocidal intent."
Rwanda had requested his extradition in 2014, but Dutch authorities initiated their own investigation into N, who had acquired Dutch citizenship.
During 100 days in April 1994, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were murdered by Hutu extremists. A memorial in Rwanda's capital, Kigali, bears the names of the genocide's victims.
The court in The Hague heard that N held a position of authority in the community during the massacre, overseeing approximately 1,000 people in Mbazi, southern Rwanda.
"The suspect was a man who was held in high regard and must have been aware of his role and the influence he had as a local administrator," the court elaborated, noting that he "committed multiple severe crimes."
At a football stadium, he instructed Hutus to prevent any Tutsis from escaping. Trapped inside, the Tutsis were subjected to stoning, gunfire, and hand grenade attacks. Those who survived were then killed with clubs and machetes, according to the court.
Before the stadium massacre, N had observed people looting and burning houses.
"Only a lifelong prison sentence does justice to the immense suffering that has been inflicted on the victims and the bereaved families," the court declared.
As part of the Dutch investigation, which began in 2020, over 30 witnesses were interviewed. N was subsequently arrested in 2024.
N denied all charges, as reported by AFP news agency, claiming he was a victim who lost family in "those horrific events."
"The case has torn his scars open again. He is a broken man," his lawyers were quoted by AFP as saying. They had sought acquittals on all counts. N was acquitted of incitement to genocide.
His defense team stated they will "almost certainly appeal the charges," according to local news agency ANP.