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
Afghan mothers seek hospital help for malnourished children
- Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, low-income families have been hit hard by cuts to international aid
- Drought and the fallout of Afghans forced across the border from Iran and Pakistan add to the economic woes
HERAT: Najiba, 24, keeps a constant watch over her baby, Artiya, one of around four million children at risk of dying from malnutrition this year in Afghanistan.
After suffering a bout of pneumonia at three months old, Artiya’s condition deteriorated and his parents went from hospital to hospital trying to find help.
“I did not get proper rest or good food,” affecting her ability to produce breast milk, Najiba said at Herat Regional Hospital in western Afghanistan.
“These days, I do not have enough milk for my baby.”
The distressed mother, who chose not to give her surname for privacy reasons, said the family earns a living from an electric supplies store run by her husband.
Najiba and her husband spent their meagre savings trying to get care for Artiya, before learning that he has a congenital heart defect.
To her, “no one can understand what I’m going through. No one knows how I feel every day, here with my child in this condition.”
“The only thing I have left is to pray that my child gets better,” she said.
John Aylieff, Afghanistan director at the World Food Programme (WFP), said women are “sacrificing their own health and their own nutrition to feed their children.”
Artiya has gained weight after several weeks at the therapeutic nutrition center in the Herat hospital, where colorful drawings of balloons and flowers adorn the walls.
Mothers such as Najiba, who are grappling with the reality of not being able to feed their children, receive psychological support.
Meanwhile, Artiya’s father is “knocking on every door just to borrow money” which could fund an expensive heart operation on another ward, Najiba said.
‘STAGGERING’ SCALE
On average, 315 to 320 malnourished children are admitted each month to the center, which is supported by medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The number of cases has steadily increased over the past five years, according to Hamayoun Hemat, MSF’s deputy coordinator in Herat.
Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, low-income families have been hit hard by cuts to international aid, as well as drought and the economic fallout of five million Afghans forced across the border from Iran and Pakistan.
“In 2025, we’d already seen the highest surge in child malnutrition recorded in Afghanistan since the beginning of the 21st century,” Aylieff said in Kabul.
The crisis is only set to worsen this year, he told AFP: “A staggering four million children in this country will be malnourished and will require treatment.”
“These children will die if they’re not treated.”
WFP is seeking $390 million to feed six million Afghans over the next six months, but Aylieff said the chance of getting such funds is “so bleak.”
Pledges of solidarity from around the globe, made after the Taliban government imposed its strict interpretation of Islamic law, have done little to help Afghan women, the WFP director said.
They are now “watching their children succumb to hunger in their arms,” he said.
‘NO HOPE’
In the country of more than 40 million people, there are relatively few medical centers that can help treat malnutrition.
Some families travel hundreds of kilometers (miles) to reach Herat hospital as they lack health care facilities in their home provinces.
Wranga Niamaty, a nurse team supervisor, said they often receive patients in the “last stage” where there is “no hope” for their survival.
Still, she feels “proud” for those she can rescue from starvation.
In addition to treating the children, the nursing team advises women on breastfeeding, which is a key factor in combating malnutrition.
Single mothers who have to work as cleaners or in agriculture are sometimes unable to produce enough milk, often due to dehydration, nurse Fawzia Azizi said.
The clinic has been a lifesaver for Jamila, a 25-year-old mother who requested her surname not be used out of privacy concerns.
Jamila’s eight-month-old daughter has Down’s syndrome and is also suffering from malnutrition, despite her husband sending money back from Iran where he works.
Wrapped in a floral veil, Jamila said she fears for the future: “If my husband is expelled from Iran, we will die of hunger.”
