Netherlands Court Sentences Dutch-Rwandan Man to Life for Role in 1994 Rwanda Genocide

A court in the Netherlands has sentenced a Dutch-Rwandan man to life imprisonment for his role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

The 66-year-old, identified only as Eugene N, was found guilty of throwing a hand grenade into a crowd of Tutsis seeking refuge in a stadium. The court convicted him of war crimes and genocide, determining that he acted with genocidal intent.

Rwanda sought his extradition in 2014, but Dutch authorities subsequently initiated their own investigation into N, who had acquired Dutch citizenship.

Over a span of 100 days beginning in April 1994, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutu extremists.

The court in The Hague heard that N occupied a position of considerable authority in the community during the killings, overseeing approximately 1,000 residents in Mbazi in southern Rwanda.

“The defendant was a man held in high esteem and would have been fully aware of his role and influence as a local administrator,” the court stated, noting that he “committed multiple serious crimes.”

At a football stadium, N instructed Hutus to prevent any Tutsis from fleeing. Those trapped inside were pelted with stones, shot at, and attacked with hand grenades.

Survivors were subsequently killed with clubs and machetes, according to the court.

Prior to the stadium massacre, N had observed as individuals looted homes and set them ablaze.

“Only a life sentence adequately addresses the profound suffering inflicted upon the victims and their families,” the court declared.

As part of the Dutch investigation launched in 2020, more than 30 witnesses provided testimony. N was apprehended in 2024.

N denied all charges, according to AFP, claiming instead that he was a victim who lost family members during “those horrific events.”

“The case has reopened his wounds. He is a broken man,” his attorneys stated, as reported by AFP. They had sought his acquittal on all counts. N was acquitted of charges related to incitement to genocide.

His legal team indicated they would “almost certainly appeal the conviction,” according to the Dutch news agency ANP.

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