{"id":12134,"date":"2026-05-06T14:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/12134\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T14:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:24:10","slug":"france-reopens-probe-into-rwandas-ex-first-lady-over-1994-genocide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/12134\/","title":{"rendered":"France reopens probe into Rwanda\u2019s ex-first lady over 1994 genocide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">France\u2019s judiciary on Wednesday ordered the resumption of an investigation into accusations that the widow of <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/rwanda\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Rwanda\u2019s;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Rwanda\u2019s<\/a> former president <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/juvenal-habyarimana\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Juvenal Habyarimana;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Juvenal Habyarimana<\/a> was involved in the 1994 <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/genocide\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:genocide;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">genocide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Investigating magistrates last year dismissed the case into alleged complicity in genocide and <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/crimes-against-humanity\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:crimes against humanity;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">crimes against humanity<\/a> against Agathe Habyarimana over \u201cinsufficient evidence\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read more<a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/french-judges-dismiss-genocide-case-152251257.html\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:French judges dismiss genocide case against Rwanda&#039;s former first lady;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">French judges dismiss genocide case against Rwanda&#8217;s former first lady<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But the judiciary overturned that decision and ordered that the investigation continue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Habyarimana, now 83, has been living in France since 1998. Kigali has repeatedly requested her extradition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The former first lady fled Rwanda with French help just days after her husband\u2019s plane was shot down in April 1994, triggering the genocide which saw around 800,000 people, mainly ethnic Tutsis, slaughtered in one of the 20th century\u2019s worst atrocities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She has rejected allegations against her, saying she was a stay-at-home mother of eight children with no link to politics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">French courts, acting on the principle of \u201cuniversal competence\u201d to try the most serious crimes committed outside of their country\u2019s territory, have already convicted several Rwandans for their part in the 1994 genocide, one of the 20th century\u2019s worst atrocities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">(FRANCE 24 with AFP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France\u2019s judiciary on Wednesday ordered the resumption of an investigation into accusations that the widow of Rwanda\u2019s former&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9173,9172,2635,5,9174,9171,8330],"class_list":["post-12134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-1994-genocide","tag-agathe-habyarimana","tag-crimes-against-humanity","tag-france","tag-insufficient-evidence","tag-juvenal-habyarimana","tag-rwanda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}