A Dutch court sentenced a 67-year-old man to life imprisonment on Friday after convicting him of genocide and war crimes committed during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
The defendant, identified under Dutch privacy rules as Eugene N., was found to have played a role in the massacre of about 3,000 Tutsis who sought refuge at a stadium in Byiza.
According to the court, Eugene N. was present at the stadium in April 1994 and instructed Hutu attackers to prevent any Tutsis from escaping.
The people sheltering inside were shot, stoned and attacked with hand grenades, including one thrown by the defendant, the court found. Those who survived the initial assault were later killed with clubs and machetes.
Eugene N. was also convicted of participating in raids against two predominantly Tutsi communities in Mbazi, where the court described him as a person of authority.
Homes were looted and set on fire during the attacks, forcing residents to flee to the stadium in the belief that it would provide safety. Many were subsequently massacred there.
The defendant fled to the Netherlands in 1998 and later acquired Dutch citizenship. Prosecutors began investigating him in 2020, leading to his arrest in 2024.
His lawyers denied that he participated in the killings, arguing instead that he had attempted to prevent acts of genocide.
More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during approximately 100 days of violence in 1994. The genocide was organised by Rwanda’s extremist Hutu-led authorities and carried out by soldiers, militias, local officials and civilians.
Dutch courts have previously prosecuted Rwandan genocide suspects under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which permits countries to try individuals accused of particularly serious international crimes regardless of where those offences occurred.