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Britain Charges First Suspect Over Rwanda Genocide Crimes
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
KIGALI/THE HAGUE/LONDON (Worthy News) – A 65-year-old Rwandan man has become the first person in Britain to be charged with crimes linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, British prosecutors confirmed Monday.
Dr Vincent Brown, formerly Dr Vincent Bajinya, was charged with one offense of conduct ancillary to genocide and six offenses of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity.
Prosecutors allege that Brown, who lives in the north London borough of Islington, directed and encouraged others to murder Tutsis in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, during the genocide in April 1994.
Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said Brown “is alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others.”
FIRST BRITISH CASE
The CPS confirmed it was the first time charges related to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda had been brought in the United Kingdom.
Ferguson explained that prosecutors decided to charge Brown after reviewing evidence submitted by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team. “We concluded that our legal test for bringing criminal charges had been met,” he added.
Brown was due to appear Tuesday at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The CPS stressed that criminal proceedings are active and that Brown has the right to a fair trial.
The investigation began in September 2019 after Rwanda formally asked British authorities to investigate people allegedly involved in genocide in the Rugenge district of Kigali in April 1994.
SEVEN-YEAR PROBE
Britain’s Metropolitan Police described the case as the result of a “complex and extensive seven-year investigation” involving international cooperation.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the case demonstrated that Britain “is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes.”
“The War Crimes Team remains committed to ensuring those suspected of involvement in genocide and other atrocity crimes are held accountable through due legal process,” she stressed.
Police added that several other investigations involving people in Britain suspected of similar offenses connected to the Rwandan genocide remain underway.
DUTCH LIFE SENTENCE
The British charges come less than a month after a court in the Netherlands sentenced a 66-year-old Rwandan-born Dutch national to life imprisonment for genocide and war crimes committed during the same period.
The Hague District Court ruled on August 28 that the man, publicly identified in the Netherlands as Eugène N., participated in attacks against predominantly Tutsi communities in Rwanda, where homes were looted and burned.
It also found that he prevented Tutsis from escaping a stadium where thousands had sought refuge and threw a grenade into the crowd. About 3,000 Tutsis were massacred at the stadium.
He had lived in the Netherlands since 1998 and later obtained Dutch citizenship. Rwanda issued an international arrest warrant for him in 2014, but Dutch authorities opened their own investigation in 2020 because his Dutch nationality prevented his extradition.
GENOCIDE’S TOLL
The genocide against the Tutsi unfolded over roughly 100 days between April and July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War.
Extremist Hutu forces, militias, officials, and others systematically targeted members of the Tutsi minority, while moderate Hutus and others who opposed the killings were also murdered.
Around 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis but also moderate Hutus, are widely estimated to have been killed. Victims were often murdered by people from their own communities and neighborhoods.
The genocide was also accompanied by widespread sexual violence, with United Nations estimates suggesting that between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped during the atrocities.
More than three decades later, authorities in several European countries continue investigating and prosecuting suspects accused of involvement in one of the worst genocides since World War Two.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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