Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga dies in custody

"Felicien Kabuga, a suspect in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, has died in custody, a UN court said on Saturday. He was 93 years old. The court, the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), said it had ordered an inquiry into the circumstances of his death."

"Kabuga was once one of the world's most-wanted fugitives. He was accused of encouraging and bankrolling the massacres between April and June 1994, in which Hutu extremists killed more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days. The genocide was triggered after a plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down over the capital, Kigali, on April 6, 1994, killing the Hutu leader."

"On the run for decades Kabuga evaded arrest for more than two decades after the genocide, using a succession of false passports and aided by a network of former Rwandan allies. An arrest warrant for him was issued in 2013, and a $5 million (4.3 million) bounty was announced. He was finally arrested in 2020 in France and extradited to The Hague. His trial started in 2022."

"Kabuga was later ruled unfit to stand trial because of dementia. The decision angered many genocide survivors in Rwanda, who felt his crimes deserved the maximum sentence. Kabuga was also deemed too ill to return to Rwanda."

Felicien Kabuga, accused of encouraging and bankrolling the 1994 Rwanda genocide, died in UN custody at age 93. The UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals ordered an inquiry into the circumstances of his death. Kabuga was a long-time fugitive who evaded arrest for more than two decades using false passports and support from former Rwandan allies. An arrest warrant was issued in 2013, and he was arrested in 2020 in France and extradited to The Hague. His trial began in 2022 on charges including genocide, incitement, conspiracy, persecution, extermination, and murder. He was ruled unfit to stand trial due to dementia and too ill to return to Rwanda.

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