A French court has sentenced former Rwandan doctor Sosthene Munyemana to 24 years in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis.
The 68-year-old ex-gynaecologist was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and involvement in a conspiracy related to these crimes.
Munyemana’s lawyers plan to appeal the verdict, challenging the prosecution’s request for a 30-year sentence.
The accusations against Munyemana included assisting in drafting a supportive letter for the interim government, which advocated for the massacre of the Tutsi minority.
Additionally, he was accused of helping establish roadblocks to round up people and subjecting them to inhumane conditions in local government offices before their eventual killing in Butare, Rwanda.
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Throughout the trial, Munyemana consistently denied the charges, asserting that he was a moderate Hutu who attempted to “save” Tutsis by offering them “refuge” in local government offices.
In 2011, he was charged by a French court on suspicion of participating in the 1994 genocide.
Munyemana had close ties to Jean Kambanda, the head of the interim government formed after the shooting down of then-President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane in 1994.
The trial, held at the Assize Court in Paris, occurred almost three decades after a complaint was initially filed against Munyemana in Bordeaux in 1995.
This marks the sixth trial in France of an alleged participant in the massacres, during which approximately 800,000 people, mainly ethnic Tutsis, were killed by Hutu soldiers and extremist militias over 100 days, according to UN figures.
France has been a notable destination for those implicated in the Rwandan genocide seeking refuge from justice in their home country.
Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame, has accused Paris of being unwilling to extradite genocide suspects or prosecute them.
Since 2014, France has conducted trials and convicted six individuals, including a former spy chief, two former mayors, and a former hotel chauffeur.