Dutch court hands life sentence to Rwandan man for genocide role

On Friday, a Dutch court sentenced a 66-year-old man to life in prison for his role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. During the April 1994 violence, the man, identified as Eugene N., was responsible for preventing Tutsis from escaping a football stadium in Mbazi, southern Rwanda, and was also involved in throwing a grenade into the crowd.

The court deemed his actions with "genocidal intent" and sentenced him to life imprisonment, stating that it was the only justice for the immense suffering inflicted upon the victims and their families. N. was convicted of war crimes and the crime of genocide. Prosecutors had urged for a life sentence, highlighting that N. was "personally involved" in the killings, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 3,000 Tutsis.

N. denied the charges, claiming he was a victim himself who had lost relatives in the genocide, while his lawyers urged for an acquittal on all counts, stating that their client had done everything to prevent the genocide. The court emphasized that N. held a position of responsibility in the community, overseeing around 1,000 people in Mbazi, and that his actions were committed with full awareness of the influence he had as a local authority.

The court further noted that N. watched from a road as his men stormed into Tutsi homes, setting them ablaze. N. fled to the Netherlands in 1998 and was issued an international arrest warrant by Rwandan authorities in 2014. However, Dutch law prevented his extradition as he obtained Dutch nationality. In 2020, Dutch prosecutors launched their own investigation, interviewing dozens of witnesses in Rwanda.

N. was arrested in 2024, making him the first individual to receive a life sentence in a Dutch court for involvement in the genocide. European courts have previously tried and convicted several dozen people for the Rwanda genocide under the principle of universal jurisdiction.