BRUSSELS: The former head of a care home for the disabled in Rwanda has beend detained in Belgium on suspicion of involvement in the African nation’s 1994 genocide, prosecutors said Saturday.
The public prosecutor’s office said the man, described only as “R,” was arrested in Belgium late September on suspicion of having committed “serious violations of international humanitarian law,” in particular acts of genocide and crimes against humanity between April 1 and May 25, 1994.
It added a judge had placed him in preventive detention on September 28.
“On April 24, 1994, Interahamwe militias are said to have stormed the town center in Gatagara. They are said to have, on R.’s instructions, taken away all the Tutsi men who were hiding in the town center,” the prosecutors stated.
“These Tutsis were then reportedly taken to a location outside the town center, where they were subsequently killed. A few days later, on May 9, 1994, the Interahamwe militias are said to have returned to the town center once again.
“On that day, once again on R.’s instructions, they are also alleged to have killed several other Tutsis, mainly women and children.”
The man is additionally accused of being in contact with Interahamwe militias before the genocide for which he is alleged to have organized and attended preparatory meetings.
