THE HAGUE. – Judges at a UN war crimes court ruled that elderly Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga is unfit to stand trial but said slimmed-down legal proceedings in his case can continue, in a decision published yesterday.

The former businessman and radio station owner was one of the last suspects sought by the tribunal prosecuting crimes committed in the 1994 genocide, when ruling Hutu majority extremists killed more than 800 000 minority Tutsis and Hutu moderates in 100 days.

Kabuga is in his late 80s, though his precise date of birth is disputed. He was arrested in France in 2020 after more than 20 years on the run.

“The trial chamber finds Mr  Kabuga is no longer capable of meaningful participation in his trial,” a decision published on the Hague court’s website said.

The decision came after doctors found Kabuga suffered from dementia.

Instead of halting the trial, the judges said they would set up an “alternative finding procedure that resembles a trial as closely as possible, but without the possibility of a conviction”.

Kabuga’s lawyer said he was “very satisfied” with the chamber’s decision. “This is something that we have been asking for a long time,” Emmanuel Altit said. – Reuters

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