Facts
Hategekimana has been convicted for having participated in the genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda in the Butare region, in particular in Nyanza and the surrounding villages in April 1994. He was accused of having assassinated a Tutsi mayor, having supervised roadblocks aimed at control and murder of Tutsis, and having participated in several mass murders, including at the Institute of Agronomic Sciences of Rwanda and at the Nyabubare and Nyamure hills.
In 1999, Hategekimana fled to France where he obtained refugee status.
In 2005, Hategekimana obtained French citizenship and changed his name to Philippe Manier.
Procedure
In June 2015, the Collectif des parties civiles pour le Rwanda filed a complaint against Hategekimana before the French specialized unit for the prosecution of international crimes. In September 2015, an investigation was opened.
In 2017, Hategekimana left France for Cameroon and in 2018, an international arrest warrant was issued against him.
In April 2018, Hategekimana was arrested in Yaoundé, Cameroon, by the Cameroonian police.
In 2019, France requested his extradition, which was granted by Cameroonian authorities. Hategekimana was brought before the French investigative judges and denied the charges. He was indicted and placed in pre-trial detention.
On 20 September 2021, investigative judges ordered that Hategekimana be sent to trial for genocide, complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity and participation in a group formed with the view to prepare the commission of these crimes. The accused appealed this order.
In January 2022, the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed Hategekimana’s referral to the Paris Criminal Court. The Paris Court of Appeal additionally added to his charges the massacre committed at the Institute of Agronomic Sciences of Rwanda, which had been dismissed in the 2021 indictment.
The trial started on 10 May 2023. On 28 June 2023, the Paris Criminal Court found Philippe Hategekimana guilty of nearly all charges and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The defendant has appealed this decision.