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
Man tackled to ground after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at Minneapolis town hall
- The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back
MINNEAPOLIS: A man wearing a black jacket was tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on US Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.” Omar continued the town hall after the man was ushered out of the room.
Just before that Omar called for the abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. “ICE cannot be reformed,” she said.
Minneapolis police did not immediately respond to a phone call and email message seeking information on the incident and whether anyone was arrested.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the congresswoman and has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.
During a Cabinet meeting in December, he called her “garbage” and added that “her friends are garbage.”
The attack on Omar came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching US Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to deport him.
