Kigali: On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, the Belgian Cour de Cassation issued a ruling rejecting the appeal submitted by the defense of Fabien Neretse, against the judgment rendered by the Cour d’assises of Brussels last December.
The latter had sentenced Fabien Neretse to 25 years’ imprisonment after having convicted him of genocide and war crimes, committed in the context of the genocide perpetrated against Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994.
After the delivery of the two judgments (guilty judgment on 19 and the sentencing judgment on 20 December), the defense had denounced a “scandal” and had quickly expressed their intention to file an appeal. The Cour de Cassation, which has no vocation to hear the merits of cases, had therefore been seized to rule on the allegations of violation of procedure by the Cour d’assises. It was in response to this appeal of the defense that the Cour de Cassation issued a dismissal order on May 26. This order of the Cour de Cassation marks the exhaustion of possible appeals and confirms the sentence pronounced in December 2019. Fabien Neretse must now serve his sentence of 25 years in jail.
Previous cases in Belgium
The Fabien Neretse case is not the first to be tried on the merits by Belgian justice in the context of the genocide perpetrated against Tutsis in Rwanda. Belgian courts had already held four trials in 2001, 2005, 2007 and in 2009, and entered seven convictions before the trial of Neretse. However, the latter has the particularity of being the first in which the Belgian courts have retained the qualification of “genocide”. In the previous cases, the prosecutions were based on “war crimes”, a qualification based on the 1993 law which introduced the universal jurisdiction of the Belgian courts in matters of war crimes. It was in 1998 that this law was amended to extend to the crime of genocide.
The sentence
In the first trial known as the “trial of the 4 from Butare”, held in 2001, the court had imposed jail sentences of 20 years for Alphone Higaniro, 15 years for Sister Consolata Mukangango (Sister Gertrude), 12 years for Vincent Ntezimana and 12 years for Sister Julienne Mukabutera (Sister Kisito).
In the case of Etienne Nzabonimana and Samuel Ndashyikirwa tried in 2005, the two half-brothers were sentenced to 12 and 10 years in prison respectively. In the case of Major Bernard Ntuyahaga, tried in 2007, the latter had received a sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Mention should also be made of another case which had a particular fate. This is the case of Ephrem Nkezabera. He was tried in his absence (for health reasons) and sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison on December 1, 2009. He then opposed and obtained the quashing of the conviction. He was to be tried again, but, he died on May 24, 2010 before the trial. His death resulted into the extinction of the prosecution.
Still within the framework of the litigation of cases related to the genocide perpetrated against Tutsi by the Belgian justice, it is necessary to mention a civil trial known as “ETO trial”, judged in connection with the massacres consecutive to the departure of the Belgian contingent of the UNAMIR, which was based at the Ecole Technique Officielle of Kicukiro. This is an action for reparations launched by heirs of the victims of the said massacres, against the Belgian State and against the 3 officers of the Belgian army considered as responsible for the evacuation, which had taken place on April 11, 1994, abandoning refugees at the mercy of the Interahamwe militiamen.
On December 8, 2010, the Brussels Tribunal of First Instance held that “the decision to evacuate ETO is a decision taken under the aegis of Belgium and not of UNAMIR”. The Tribunal also emphasized, with regard to the three officers concerned by the action, that “the fact of having obeyed orders is not in itself such as to exonerate the soldiers from their responsibilities, since these orders were such as to lead to the commission of war crimes, any more than the fact of having sought, in vain, alternative solutions for the protection of refugees before evacuation”.
In its ruling of June 28, 2018, the Court of Appeal overturned the judgment of the Tribunal of First Instance, ruling that the withdrawal of troops based at ETO was a decision of UNAMIR and not of the Belgian State, thus affirming the immunity to the benefit of concerned officers. In its conclusion, the Court noted that, the claims against the appellants Luc MARCHAL and Joseph DEWEZ fell outside the jurisdiction of the Belgian courts and declared the claims against the Belgian State unfounded.
Besides these already decided and closed cases, other cases are due for judgment before the Cour d’assises Court. There are 4 accused namely Ernest GAKWAYA and NKUNZUWIMYE Emmanuel referred in the same case as Fabien Neretse, as well as the former Prosecutor BUSHISHI Mathias and Mr. KWITONDA Thaddée whose referral of February 27, 2018 was confirmed by the Brussels’ court of appeal in a ruling issued on December 12, 2018. These 4 defendants are therefore the subjects of the next trials before the cour d’assises, where, like Fabien Neretse, they will answer for facts officially termed as “genocide”.
This note is a communication from the “Justice & Memoire” program, which aims to facilitate understanding and participation, by Rwandan populations, in genocide trials based on the universal jurisdiction, and to promote the integration of the contributions of such trials into the memory of the genocide justice.
This program is implemented by RCN Justice & Democracy, PAX PRESS, Haguruka and Association Modeste et Innocent (AMI). The program follows the course of the proceedings in genocide cases based on the universal jurisdiction and informs impacted populations on the progress of the case trials. The program receives financial support from the government of Belgium through the Directorate General for Development (DGD). Program broadcasts do not engage the responsibility of DGD. (End)
Fabien Neretse’s conviction has become enforceable, his sentence is 25 years in prison
Kigali, 26 June (RNA) -On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, the Belgian Cour de Cassation issued a ruling rejecting the appeal submitted by the defense of Fabien Neretse, against the judgment rendered by the Cour d’assises of Brussels last December.
The latter had sentenced Fabien Neretse to 25 years’ imprisonment after having convicted him of genocide and war crimes, committed in the context of the genocide perpetrated against Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994.
After the delivery of the two judgments (guilty judgment on 19 and the sentencing judgment on 20 December), the defense had denounced a “scandal” and had quickly expressed their intention to file an appeal. The Cour de Cassation, which has no vocation to hear the merits of cases, had therefore been seized to rule on the allegations of violation of procedure by the Cour d’assises. It was in response to this appeal of the defense that the Cour de Cassation issued a dismissal order on May 26. This order of the Cour de Cassation marks the exhaustion of possible appeals and confirms the sentence pronounced in December 2019. Fabien Neretse must now serve his sentence of 25 years in jail.
Previous cases in Belgium
The Fabien Neretse case is not the first to be tried on the merits by Belgian justice in the context of the genocide perpetrated against Tutsis in Rwanda. Belgian courts had already held four trials in 2001, 2005, 2007 and in 2009, and entered seven convictions before the trial of Neretse. However, the latter has the particularity of being the first in which the Belgian courts have retained the qualification of “genocide”. In the previous cases, the prosecutions were based on “war crimes”, a qualification based on the 1993 law which introduced the universal jurisdiction of the Belgian courts in matters of war crimes. It was in 1998 that this law was amended to extend to the crime of genocide.
The sentence
In the first trial known as the “trial of the 4 from Butare”, held in 2001, the court had imposed jail sentences of 20 years for Alphone Higaniro, 15 years for Sister Consolata Mukangango (Sister Gertrude), 12 years for Vincent Ntezimana and 12 years for Sister Julienne Mukabutera (Sister Kisito).
In the case of Etienne Nzabonimana and Samuel Ndashyikirwa tried in 2005, the two half-brothers were sentenced to 12 and 10 years in prison respectively. In the case of Major Bernard Ntuyahaga, tried in 2007, the latter had received a sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Mention should also be made of another case which had a particular fate. This is the case of Ephrem Nkezabera. He was tried in his absence (for health reasons) and sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison on December 1, 2009. He then opposed and obtained the quashing of the conviction. He was to be tried again, but, he died on May 24, 2010 before the trial. His death resulted into the extinction of the prosecution.
Still within the framework of the litigation of cases related to the genocide perpetrated against Tutsi by the Belgian justice, it is necessary to mention a civil trial known as “ETO trial”, judged in connection with the massacres consecutive to the departure of the Belgian contingent of the UNAMIR, which was based at the Ecole Technique Officielle of Kicukiro. This is an action for reparations launched by heirs of the victims of the said massacres, against the Belgian State and against the 3 officers of the Belgian army considered as responsible for the evacuation, which had taken place on April 11, 1994, abandoning refugees at the mercy of the Interahamwe militiamen.
On December 8, 2010, the Brussels Tribunal of First Instance held that “the decision to evacuate ETO is a decision taken under the aegis of Belgium and not of UNAMIR”. The Tribunal also emphasized, with regard to the three officers concerned by the action, that “the fact of having obeyed orders is not in itself such as to exonerate the soldiers from their responsibilities, since these orders were such as to lead to the commission of war crimes, any more than the fact of having sought, in vain, alternative solutions for the protection of refugees before evacuation”.
In its ruling of June 28, 2018, the Court of Appeal overturned the judgment of the Tribunal of First Instance, ruling that the withdrawal of troops based at ETO was a decision of UNAMIR and not of the Belgian State, thus affirming the immunity to the benefit of concerned officers. In its conclusion, the Court noted that, the claims against the appellants Luc MARCHAL and Joseph DEWEZ fell outside the jurisdiction of the Belgian courts and declared the claims against the Belgian State unfounded.
Besides these already decided and closed cases, other cases are due for judgment before the Cour d’assises Court. There are 4 accused namely Ernest GAKWAYA and NKUNZUWIMYE Emmanuel referred in the same case as Fabien Neretse, as well as the former Prosecutor BUSHISHI Mathias and Mr. KWITONDA Thaddée whose referral of February 27, 2018 was confirmed by the Brussels’ court of appeal in a ruling issued on December 12, 2018. These 4 defendants are therefore the subjects of the next trials before the cour d’assises, where, like Fabien Neretse, they will answer for facts officially termed as “genocide”.
This note is a communication from the “Justice & Memoire” program, which aims to facilitate understanding and participation, by Rwandan populations, in genocide trials based on the universal jurisdiction, and to promote the integration of the contributions of such trials into the memory of the genocide justice.
This program is implemented by RCN Justice & Democracy, PAX PRESS, Haguruka and Association Modeste et Innocent (AMI). The program follows the course of the proceedings in genocide cases based on the universal jurisdiction and informs impacted populations on the progress of the case trials. The program receives financial support from the government of Belgium through the Directorate General for Development (DGD). Program broadcasts do not engage the responsibility of DGD. (End)
This program is implemented by RCN Justice & Democracy, PAX PRESS, Haguruka and Association Modeste et Innocent (AMI). The program follows the course of the proceedings in genocide cases based on the universal jurisdiction and informs impacted populations on the progress of the case trials. The program receives financial support from the government of Belgium through the Directorate General for Development (DGD). Program broadcasts do not engage the responsibility of DGD. (End)