ISLAMABAD: The trial of an alleged mastermind of the 1994 Rwandan genocide has been halted at The Hague over the claims of him having dementia.
Félicien Kabuga, 90, was scheduled to stand trial after evading police for 26 years, but his lawyers claim he has dementia and is not able to stand trial. The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals accepted a pause while his health was evaluated. Kabuga, a wealthy businessman, is alleged of using his radio station to incite ethnic Hutus to kill rival Tutsis. He is accused of inciting genocide by publicizing inflammatory hate speech.
It has also been stated that he used his large fortune from the tea trade in the 1970s to purchase machetes used to arm Hutu death squads.
Dementia claim and the allegations
Félicien Kabuga has denied all of the allegations. Kabuga was apprehended in 2020 after evading capture for decades. French authorities tracked him down to a Paris apartment where he had been living under a fake name.
Victims of the genocide have previously expressed concern that if Kabuga dies without going on trial at the ICC, which is already expected to take years, justice will be denied.
