Agathe K.-H.

Type of liability
Personne physique

Alleged perpetrator(s)
Agathe K.-H.

Nationality of alleged perpetrator(s)
Rwandan

Legal classification of crime(s)
Complicity in genocide
Complicity in crimes against humanity

Source of the complaint
NGO

Ongoing proceedings
oui

Regime
1 - TPIY/TPIR

Summary of facts

The widow of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana, who died on April 6, 1994, in the attack on his plane over Kigali airport, is said to be one of the leaders of the “Akazu”, the “little house” in Kinyarwanda. According to several experts, it was this hard core of Hutu extremists that allegedly planned and orchestrated the genocide.

Amnesty International France recalls that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law.

Legal proceedings

January 25, 2007: Agathe K.-H.’s asylum application is rejected. 
February 13, 2007: The CPCR files a complaint with civil party application against Agathe K.-H. 
May 16, 2007: The Evry Public Prosecutor’s Office opens a judicial investigation against person or persons unknown for “complicity in genocide” and “complicity in crimes against humanity”. 
November 8, 2007: An order relinquishing jurisdiction is issued in favor of Paris. 
March 13, 2008: A judicial investigation is opened. 
October 16, 2009: Agathe K.-H. is denied refugee status. 
In October 2009: Rwanda issues an international arrest warrant against Agathe K.-H. 
March 2, 2010: Agathe K.-H. is arrested and then released. 
September 28, 2011: The Paris Court of Appeal refuses to extradite K.-H. to Rwanda. 
December 21, 2018: A dismissal order is issued concerning the attack of April 6, 1994. 
November 4, 2020: An application for dismissal on the grounds of the unreasonable length of the investigation, filed by Agathe K.-H., is declared inadmissible by the Paris Court of Appeal because investigative acts are ongoing. 
February 15, 2022: The Court of Cassation upholds the 2018 dismissal order. The investigating judge ends the investigations against Agathe K.-H. 
In August 2022: The prosecutor issues a supplementary prosecution submission requesting new investigative measures. 
In September 2024: The Public Prosecutor’s Office refers the matter to the Investigating Chamber of the Court of Appeal with a view to the indictment of Agathe K.-H. for “conspiracy to commit genocide”. 
May 16, 2025: The investigating judge issues an order closing the investigation without Agathe K.-H. being indicted, as there are allegedly “at this stage no serious and corroborating indications against Agathe K.-H. that she may have been an accomplice to an act of genocide” or may have “participate[d] in a conspiracy to commit genocide”. 
May 26, 2025: The Public Prosecutor’s Office appeals the order closing the investigation. 
August 20, 2025: The investigating judges issue a dismissal order, finding the charges insufficient to prosecute her for conspiracy to commit the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the CPCR appealed. 
May 6, 2026: The Investigating Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal overturns the dismissal and calls for the investigations to resume. 
May 13, 2026: Agathe K.-H. appeals to the Court of Cassation.