Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
A man originally from Rwanda, currently residing in north London, has become the first individual to be formally charged in the United Kingdom for crimes connected to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Dr. Vincent Brown, who was previously known as Dr. Vincent Bajinya and is 65 years old, faces charges including one count of conduct ancillary to genocide and six counts of conduct ancillary to murder as crimes against humanity.
Frank Ferguson, who leads the CPS’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, stated that Brown “is alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others.” Brown is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Ferguson explained that the decision to charge Brown followed a thorough review of evidence compiled by the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Team. “We concluded that our legal test for bringing criminal charges had been met,” he added.
The investigation by the War Crimes Team began in September 2019 after Rwanda’s government formally requested an inquiry into individuals suspected of involvement in the genocide that occurred in the Rugenge district of Kigali in April 1994. During a period of approximately 100 days in 1994, around 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed by extremist Hutu groups. These attacks were aimed primarily at the Tutsi minority and political adversaries regardless of their ethnicity. Following the genocide, the predominantly Tutsi-led forces that assumed control allegedly retaliated by killing thousands of Hutu individuals.
The Metropolitan Police described the charges against Brown as the outcome of a “complex and extensive seven-year investigation.” Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, emphasized that “this case demonstrates the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes.” She further affirmed the ongoing commitment of the War Crimes Team to hold those responsible for genocide and other serious atrocities accountable through legal channels. Flanagan also noted that investigations into other people residing in the UK suspected of similar offenses connected to the Rwandan genocide remain active
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.