"These are all lies. I did not kill Tutsis while I worked with them." Before the investigative chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal, Félicien Kabuga denied on Wednesday May 27 all the accusations concerning his involvement in the Tutsi genocide perpetrated in Rwanda in 1994.
Charged with pronouncing his possible transfer to the Mechanism for International Criminal Courts (MTPI) so that Félicien Kabuga can be tried there for genocide and crimes against humanity, the investigative chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal rejected the request lawyers of the Rwandan businessman released. The courts considered that his state of health was not incompatible with his detention.
The decision to authorize or not are transfer to the MTPI was deliberated on June 3.
Félicien Kabuga was arrested near Paris on May 16 after 26 years on the run. He had already appeared in court last Wednesday.
>> To read: Arrest of Félicien Kabuga: France, a land sought after by Rwandan genocide suspects
Financing of Interahamwe militias
He is accused, in particular, of having financed the Interahamwe militias, responsible for numerous massacres during the genocide in Rwanda, which killed at least 800,000 people, Tutsis and moderate Hutus, between April and July 1994.
Five charges were brought against him in the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) of April 29, 2013: genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, attempted genocide, agreement to commit genocide.
His lawyers refuse his transfer to the MTPI, successor to the ICTR, in The Hague or Arusha, in Tanzania, and demand that he be tried in France in order to benefit from a fair trial.
According to them, a transfer of Félicien Kabuga, because of his age (87 years) and a very fragile health, could have irreversible consequences.
With Reuters
The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribeTake international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_FR