THE HAGUE, Netherlands: A Dutch court yesterday convicted a Rwanda-born Dutch woman of inciting genocide in Rwanda’s 1994 mass murders of ethnic Tutsis by members of the Hutu tribe — the first conviction of a Dutch citizen for the crime.
The Hague District Court sentenced Yvonne Basebya, 66, to six years and eight months in prison for her role, the maximum available prison term at the time of the crimes.
The judges said they imposed the maximum sentence, “in the realization that this punishment does not do justice to the extremely serious nature of the proven criminal acts.” The 125-page written judgment said that she led meetings in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, of a radical Hutu party and sang a song that called for the murder of all Tutsis.
However, the court acquitted her of the more serious crimes of genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide, saying there was no evidence that she helped compile lists of people to be killed, or that she actually participated in the killings.
Basebya, wearing a pink sweater and earrings of small crosses at the end of long chains, sat silently throughout the hearing but tried to call out to supporters in the public gallery as police bundled her out of the courtroom.
Her lawyer said he would advise her to appeal against the conviction even though she was cleared of most charges.
“The picture that is now being painted is not at all in accordance with the complex nature of what happened,” said attorney Victor Koppe. “There were so many witnesses who knew her, who were there, who have said that this is absolutely not what was happening at the time.”
Koppe argued at trial that prosecution witnesses had deliberately lied as a way of getting their hands on Basebya’s property in Rwanda. Prosecutors said they would study the judgment before deciding whether to appeal the acquittals.
Spokesman Jirko Patist said he was pleased the court had accepted evidence of Basebya’s involvement.
“The suspect recruited youths and incited them to commit genocide, to commit murders,” he said. “The court called her an essential link in the genocide.”
Basebya emigrated to the Netherlands in 1998 and gained citizenship in 2004, before her crimes were known. She was prosecuted as a Dutch citizen, though war crimes can be prosecuted anywhere.
Three other Rwandans have been arrested in the Netherlands for their alleged role in their nation’s genocide.
Woman jailed for Rwanda genocide
Woman jailed for Rwanda genocide
Trump administration labels 3 Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations
- The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization
- “These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence,” Rubio said
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has made good on its pledge to label three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on them and their members in a decision that could have implications for US relationships with allies Qatar and Turkiye.
The Treasury and State departments announced the actions Tuesday against the Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they said pose a risk to the United States and American interests.
The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization, the most severe of the labels, which makes it a criminal offense to provide material support to the group. The Jordanian and Egyptian branches were listed by Treasury as specially designated global terrorists for providing support to Hamas.
“These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters’ violence and destabilization wherever it occurs,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism.”
Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were mandated last year under an executive order signed by Trump to determine the most appropriate way to impose sanctions on the groups, which US officials say engage in or support violence and destabilization campaigns that harm the United States and other regions.
Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said they renounce violence.
Trump’s executive order had singled out the chapters in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, noting that a wing of the Lebanese chapter had launched rockets on Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel that set off the war in Gaza. Leaders of the group in Jordan have provided support to Hamas, the order said.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 but was banned in that country in 2013. Jordan announced a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in April.
Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, said some allies of the US, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, would likely be pleased with the designation.
“For other governments where the brotherhood is tolerated, it would be a thorn in bilateral relations,” including in Qatar and Turkiye, he said.
Brown also said a designation on the chapters may have effects on visa and asylum claims for people entering not just the US but also Western European countries and Canada.
“I think this would give immigration officials a stronger basis for suspicion, and it might make courts less likely to question any kind of official action against Brotherhood members who are seeking to stay in this country, seeking political asylum,” he said.
Trump, a Republican, weighed whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2019 during his first term in office. Some prominent Trump supporters, including right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, have pushed his administration to take aggressive action against the group.
Two Republican-led state governments — Florida and Texas — designated the group as a terrorist organization this year.
