French Court Reopens Genocide Case Against Agathe Habyarimana

The investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal has overturned the dismissal of charges against Agathe Habyarimana, the widow of former Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana. The ruling, issued on May 6, mandates the return of the case file to investigating magistrates for further inquiry after a nineteen-year investigation. Habyarimana, aged 83 and residing in the Paris region, faces accusations of complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity related to the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, which resulted in between 800,000 and one million deaths. The court determined that additional investigative steps are necessary, specifically searching for a missing document and hearing new witnesses to establish her potential involvement. Prosecutors have long investigated whether she was a member of the 'akazu,' an elite circle of Hutu dignitaries alleged to have planned the massacres. The initial dismissal was pronounced in August 2025, but this recent judgment ensures the judicial process continues. As the crimes are imprescriptible, the legal proceedings persist despite the passage of time since the events began with the assassination of her husband in April 1994.