May 16 (UPI) — Félicien Kabuga, an alleged Rwandan war criminal, died in custody in The Hague, the Netherlands, Saturday, according to the United Nations.
Kabuga was 91.
Kabuga had been charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity, including persecution, extermination and murder, committed during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people in Rwanda. The genocide killed an estimated 500,000 to 1 million people, about 70% of Rwanda’s Tutsi population.
He was arrested in Paris in 2020, found to be living there under an alias.
His trial began in September 2022. In September 2023, the Trial Chamber stayed the trial indefinitely because Kabuga was found to be unfit to stand trial. Kabuga had cognitive impairment, was in a vulnerable and fragile state and required intensive medical care and monitoring, the United Nations said. The court ordered that he remain in jail, pending his provisional release.
At the time of his death, Kabuga was awaiting release to a country willing to accept him.
Kabuga was the founder of the RTLM radio station in Kigali, Rwanda. His indictment alleged that under his direction, the radio station broadcast anti-Tutsi messages and provided locations and other information about Tutsi people that led to their killings. He was also charged with aiding and abetting the Interahamwe, a Hutu paramilitary group that killed Tutsis. He’s alleged to have given the group material, logistical, financial and moral support, the United Nations said.
Dutch authorities have begun death investigations required under Dutch law, a statement from the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals said.
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