Rwanda genocide verdict due in Dutch court

A Dutch court is due on Friday, August 28, to deliver a verdict in the case of Eugene N., a Rwandan-born Dutch national accused of inciting and taking part in the massacre of an estimated 3,000 Tutsis during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Prosecutors allege Eugene N. was personally involved in killings at a football stadium in Mbazi, southern Rwanda, in April 1994, where victims had sought refuge. They also allege he looted and destroyed property before the massacre, including torching houses and plundering possessions.

Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence him to life in prison. During hearings in June, a prosecutor said the case involved an estimated 3,000 innocent people who were "literally slaughtered" and alleged that the suspect personally threw a grenade into the stadium.

Eugene N. denies the charges. He said he was himself a victim who lost dozens of relatives during what he called "those horrific events". His lawyers urged acquittal on all counts and said their client did "everything to prevent the genocide".

Eugene N. fled to the Netherlands in 1998. Rwandan authorities issued an international arrest warrant for him in 2014, but Dutch law prevents his extradition because he has obtained Dutch nationality. Dutch prosecutors opened their own investigation in 2020 and interviewed dozens of witnesses in Rwanda. He was arrested in 2024.

The 1994 Rwanda genocide killed an estimated 800,000 people over three months. According to UN figures, most victims were part of Rwanda's Tutsi minority.

European courts have tried and convicted several dozen people involved in the Rwanda genocide under universal jurisdiction, which allows courts to hear cases involving the most serious crimes even when they were committed abroad.