PARIS, France
Life imprisonment was requested on Monday for former Rwandan policeman Philippe Hategekimana, naturalised as a French citizen under the name Philippe Manier, described by the public prosecutor as a "fundamental link in the implementation of the genocide" in Rwanda.
"Mr Manier is the
perpetrator of genocide and crimes against humanity", argued Céline
Viguier, one of the two public prosecutors. "He is not a 'little fish', he
is not a mere executor but a fundamental link in the implementation of the genocide"
in Rwanda in 1994, she insisted, before calling for the most severe sentence
possible for these crimes.
In their two-voice closing
arguments, general counsel Céline Viguier and Louisa Aït Hamou asked the court
to "hold the accused criminally responsible" for all the charges
brought against him.
Mr Manier is charged with
participation in a criminal conspiracy to prepare the crimes of genocide and
other crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The 66-year-old ex-gendarme is
a "liar and an affabulator", said the prosecution. "No credit
can be given to him".
They criticised the
defendant's decision not to talk about the facts. During the trial, the accused
showed "no empathy for the survivors", they deplored, even though
dozens of survivors of the massacres had taken the witness stand.
Not only did Philippe Manier
take part in the massacres, but as chief warrant officer in the gendarmerie, he
"incited" the population to kill, often setting an example himself.
"I have no comment' was
the sentence that Mr Hategekimana uttered most during the hearing", said
the judges.
Mr Hategekimana/Manier, also
known by the nickname "Biguma", is being prosecuted for his alleged
involvement in the murders of dozens of Tutsis in the Butare prefecture,
including the mayor of Ntyazo who resisted the implementation of the genocide
in his commune.
In particular, he is alleged
to have ordered and supervised the erection of several "barriers", or
roadblocks, "intended to control and kill Tutsi civilians".
The prosecution also accused
Mr Manier of having participated, by giving orders or even by being directly
involved on the ground, in three massacres: that of Nyabubare hill where 300
people were killed on 23 April 1994, that, four days later, of Nyamure hill
where thousands of Tutsis had taken refuge, and that of the Institute of
Agricultural Sciences of Rwanda, where tens of thousands of victims were
counted.
To support their case, the
Attorneys General detailed the circumstances of these three massacres. There is
"no doubt" that the accused actively participated in them, they
argued, citing the investigation file and testimony given by survivors at the
hearing.
"The aim of genocide is
that no witness should survive. That is why survivors' accounts are rare and
precious", they insisted, while the defence sometimes questioned the
credibility of the testimony of survivors or former assailants testifying
against the accused.
Throughout the closing
arguments, Mr Manier, wearing a short-sleeved checked shirt, remained staring
at the ground. The former Rwandan gendarme contests all the accusations.
In a statement read out at the
hearing last week, he denounced "unjust accusations", saying that he
heard "day after day, unknown people (accuse him) of every conceivable
crime".
"Acknowledging my
innocence does not mean denying the genocide, it does not mean denying the
suffering of the victims. It is simply accepting the complexity of the
situation at the time", he said.
The former chief warrant officer
is the fifth defendant to be tried in France for crimes committed during the
genocide in Rwanda, which the UN estimates killed more than 800,000 people,
mainly Tutsis, between April and July 1994.
The defence case is due to be
heard on Tuesday and the verdict is expected on Wednesday.
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