France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Parquet National Antiterroriste) announced on Monday that it has appealed a decision by the Paris Court of Appeal which had ruled against reopening an investigation into Agathe Habyarimana, the widow of former Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana, over her alleged involvement in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
In a statement to Agence Radio France, the prosecutor’s office confirmed it is seeking a fresh investigation into the role of 82-year-old Agathe Habyarimana in the atrocities committed during the genocide.
Last Wednesday, the Paris Court of Appeal declared that there was insufficient evidence to justify a new probe into allegations of complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity.
The decision to appeal marks a new twist in a case that has dragged on for more than 15 years. Agathe Kanziga Habyarimana, who has been living in France for years, is also wanted by Rwandan judicial authorities on charges related to the genocide.
Despite the court’s recent statement that “there is no evidence at this stage that [Agathe] was complicit in the genocide,” French prosecutors insist that new grounds exist to reopen and reexamine the case, which they argue could shed more light on her alleged involvement.
