Rwandan Priest Arrested in France for Alleged Role in Genocide
Voice of America
PARIS - A Rwandan priest was arrested in France this week on charges of providing, among other things, food to militiamen who massacred members of the Tutsi minority in his church during the 1994 genocide in the African country, authorities said Friday.
Marcel Hitayezu, who was born in 1956, was charged on Wednesday with genocide and being an accomplice to crimes against humanity, according to the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office. He was arrested the same day at his home in Montlieu-la-Garde, southwestern France, a source close to the case said. Prosecutors said Hitayezu was the priest at a church in Mubuga, in southern Rwanda, when the genocide took place and in April 1994 withheld food and water to Tutsis who had sought refuge in his church. He instead gave food to extremist Interahamwe militiamen who attacked the refugees, prosecutors added.FILE - A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, left, and Taliban fighters stand guard on their respective sides at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan, Sept. 5, 2021. FILE - Taliban fighters patrol on the road during a celebration marking the second anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan, in Kandahar, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 15, 2023. FILE - Pakistan troops patrol along the fence on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Big Ben hilltop post in Khyber district, Pakistan, Aug. 3, 2021.