Pascal Simbikangwa | |
---|---|
Born | 1959 Karago,
Rwanda |
Nationality | Rwandan |
Political party | MRND |
Criminal status | Incarcerated |
Conviction(s) |
Genocide Crimes against humanity |
Criminal penalty | 25 years imprisonment |
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Part of a series on the |
Rwandan genocide |
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Pascal Simbikangwa is the former spy chief of Rwanda. Simbikangwa was an active propagandist during the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and was found guilty of crimes against humanity. [1]
Simbikangwa, born in Karago in 1959, became disabled in 1986 following a car accident. He became head of Rwanda's Central Intelligence Agency. Simbikangwa was also captain of the presidential guard while he was the chief of intelligence. [2]
He remained in these positions through the genocide, fleeing Rwanda in the late summer of 1994. Simbikangwa first fled to the Comoros Islands. [1] In 2008, he filed for political asylum in Mayotte. He was arrested on 28 October 2008 for falsification of papers. He was tried in France under a French law that allows anyone accused of crimes against humanity to be extradited there. [3]
During his 2014 trial in France, Simbikangwa was described as a close friend and distant cousin of Juvénal Habyarimana, whose assassination sparked ethnic tensions in Rwanda. Prosecutors showed that Simbikangwa was the a top shareholder in Free Radio-Television des Milles Collines, one of the main Hutu propaganda arms, which called openly for genocide. Simbikangwa was accused and found guilty of creating lists of Tutsi and moderate-Hutu leaders who would be targeted for genocide. [4] Simbikangwa was found guilty on 14 March 2014 of " complicity in genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity." [4] He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. [4]
Pascal Simbikangwa | |
---|---|
Born | 1959 Karago,
Rwanda |
Nationality | Rwandan |
Political party | MRND |
Criminal status | Incarcerated |
Conviction(s) |
Genocide Crimes against humanity |
Criminal penalty | 25 years imprisonment |
![]() |
Part of a series on the |
Rwandan genocide |
---|
Pascal Simbikangwa is the former spy chief of Rwanda. Simbikangwa was an active propagandist during the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and was found guilty of crimes against humanity. [1]
Simbikangwa, born in Karago in 1959, became disabled in 1986 following a car accident. He became head of Rwanda's Central Intelligence Agency. Simbikangwa was also captain of the presidential guard while he was the chief of intelligence. [2]
He remained in these positions through the genocide, fleeing Rwanda in the late summer of 1994. Simbikangwa first fled to the Comoros Islands. [1] In 2008, he filed for political asylum in Mayotte. He was arrested on 28 October 2008 for falsification of papers. He was tried in France under a French law that allows anyone accused of crimes against humanity to be extradited there. [3]
During his 2014 trial in France, Simbikangwa was described as a close friend and distant cousin of Juvénal Habyarimana, whose assassination sparked ethnic tensions in Rwanda. Prosecutors showed that Simbikangwa was the a top shareholder in Free Radio-Television des Milles Collines, one of the main Hutu propaganda arms, which called openly for genocide. Simbikangwa was accused and found guilty of creating lists of Tutsi and moderate-Hutu leaders who would be targeted for genocide. [4] Simbikangwa was found guilty on 14 March 2014 of " complicity in genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity." [4] He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. [4]