{Pascal Simbikangwa’s arrest in 2008}
{{It’s now 20 years after the occurrence of the Rwandan genocide; however the first trial in France against genocide suspect Pascal Simbikangwa opened yesterday at the Paris criminal court.}}
Pascal Simbikangwa is accused of complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity. He faced the jury trial for allegedly having supplied weapons and other materials to officers who were guarding the roadblocks and giving them instructions that led to the massacre of numerous Tutsis.
“We welcome this long-awaited trial that should shed the light on important events that occurred during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda,” said Sheila Muwanga, FIDH Vice-President.
With this trial, France is finally living up to its legal obligations to deliver justice for the victims of the Rwandan genocide.
Hopefully it will be the first of other trials against Rwandan genocide suspects currently living in France », declared Patrick Baudouin, FIDH honorary president and coordinator of the FIDH Litigation Action Group.
While being investigated in France for the forging of administrative documents, Pascal Simbikangwa was arrested on the French territory and investigated for his alleged responsibility in crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide committed in 1994 while in Rwanda, after a complaint was filed against him in February 2009.
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