A former doctor went on trial in Paris on Tuesday accused of genocide in Rwanda, the latest suspect to face justice in France three decades after the massacre of the African country's Tutsi population by the Hutu majority.
Eugene Rwamucyo, 65, is accused of aiding his country's then authorities to disseminate anti-Tutsi propaganda and of participating in mass murder in an attempt to destroy evidence of genocide.
Rwamucyo's trial is the eighth in France relating to the genocide in 1994, when an estimated 800,000 people -- mostly ethnic Tutsis -- were slaughtered.
The former doctor, who practised medicine in France and Belgium after leaving his country, has been charged with genocide, complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity, complicity in crimes against humanity and conspiring to prepare those crimes.
If found guilty he could face life in prison.
The trial at the Paris court is due to last all month, up to October 29.
Rwamucyo, who is not in custody, appeared in court accompanied by his lawyers without making any comment.
His lawyers requested that the trial be postponed, denouncing an excessive number of sudden petitions from civil parties to the trial.
"This morning, we were presented with around 800 requests for civil action from individuals, whereas until now there were only four, all associations," said defence lawyer Philippe Meilhac.
"This trial is not ready to be judged in a calm manner," he added.
- International arrest warrant -
Rwamucyo, who grew up in a Hutu family, was approached by anti-Tutsi militants in the late 1980s after his return from studying in Russia, according to prosecutors, who accuse him of then spreading anti-Tutsi propaganda.
While teaching at university, he also participated in the execution of wounded patients and helped bury them in mass graves "in a final effort to destroy evidence of genocide", the prosecution said, quoting witness statements.
His lawyers, Meilhac and Francoise Mathe, say Rwamucyo denies any wrongdoing and argues the accusation is based on his opposition to the current Rwandan government.
His participation in the burial of bodies in mass graves was motivated by the wish to avoid a "health crisis" that would have occurred if they had been left out in the open, the lawyers said.
Following an international arrest warrant issued by Rwanda, Rwamucyo was detained in May 2010 by French police following a tip-off by his colleagues in the Maubeuge hospital, where he was working at the time.
"He was openly anti-Tutsi and publicly expressed his support for the genocidal government," said Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer for LDH and FIDH, two human rights organisations who are among the plaintiffs.
Around 60 witnesses are expected to testify during the trial.
In December 2023, a French court sentenced another former doctor, Sosthene Munyemana, to 24 years in prison for his involvement in the 1994 genocide.