France drops prosecution of Genocide suspect Callixte Mbarushimana

The French judiciary has discontinued its investigation into Callixte Mbarushimana, a former UN employee accused of involvement in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, citing insufficient evidence. Mbarushimana, who has held political refugee status in France for the past 20 years, was first indicted in 2010 for crimes against humanity and complicity in such crimes. ALSO READ: Rwanda to pursue Mbarushimana An order issued on October 1, revealed over the weekend by a Paris Judicial Court judge from the crimes against humanity division, found no case to answer, pointing to a lack of consistent and precise testimony. He is accused of directly participating in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi as a member of the ex-FAR. He was among those who drew up lists of the Tutsi to be killed and supplied equipment to the ex-FAR and the Interahamawe militia. ALSO READ: How has Europe fared in bringing to book Genocide fugitives? Mbarushimana was previously prosecuted by the International Criminal Court in 2010 for crimes in DR Congo but was not tried due to insufficient evidence. Rights group Collective of Civil Parties for Rwanda (CPCR) has announced plans to appeal the dismissal, criticising the investigation as incomplete, particularly noting unverified witness testimonies and overlooked details from a UN internal report. Mbarushimana, the former Executive Secretary of the DR Congo-based FDLR genocidal militia which was formed by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda was, in January 2011, transferred from France to the International Criminal Court (ICC), in The Hague, for trial and detention over crimes the genocidal militia he led committed in DR Congo. But he was never prosecuted. He returned to France where he continued to live as a free man. In 2010, Rwanda’s Prosecution sent an indictment – with genocide charges – to France. Mbarushimana is accused of playing a central role in organizing and executing massacres in Kigali during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, when he took over the administration of UNDP offices in Kigali after the evacuation of expatriates. He is believed to have used the logistics of the United Nations in killing sprees across the city. When the Genocide began on April 7, 1994, it is reported that Mbarushimana was a computer technician with UNDP, in Kigali. In 2001, the UN conducted its own investigation and linked Mbarushimana with the murder of 32 people, including Tutsi colleagues at the UNDP, during the Genocide.

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France drops prosecution of Genocide suspect Callixte Mbarushimana