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Rwanda Genocide Suspect Félicien Kabuga Dies in U.N. Custody at 91

The tribunal ordered an inquiry into his death following years of delayed justice.

Overview

  • Kabuga died in a hospital in The Hague while held by the U.N. tribunal, which has opened an investigation into the circumstances of his death.
  • Judges ruled him unfit for trial in 2023 because of dementia, and they set a process to hear evidence without the possibility of a conviction.
  • He had pleaded not guilty to charges including genocide, incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy, persecution, extermination and murder, which could have led to life in prison.
  • After the unfitness ruling he remained in detention pending potential release to a country willing to accept him, and his lawyer refused a return to Rwanda over fears of mistreatment.
  • The 1994 genocide killed about 800,000 people, and survivors in Rwanda were angered that the case would not conclude with a verdict.