Rwanda
Philippe Hategekimana (Manier)
Type of liability
Personne physique
Alleged perpetrator(s)
Philippe HATEGEKIMANA (MANIER)
Nationality of alleged perpetrator(s)
French-Rwandan
Legal classification of crime(s)
Genocide
Complicity in genocide
Crimes against humanity
Criminal conspiracy
Source of the complaint
NGO
Ongoing proceedings
oui
Regime
1 - TPIY/TPIR
4 - 113 CP
Summary of facts
Philippe Hategekimana, also known as Biguma, is a former gendarmerie officer from the commune of Nyanza, near Butare, in southern Rwanda.
He is suspected of having participated in the genocide against the Tutsi.
He was allegedly involved in the organization and commission of multiple atrocities in Nyanza and the surrounding villages in April 1994, notably at the Rwandan Institute of Agricultural Sciences, and is accused of having murdered a Tutsi mayor.
After the genocide, Hategekimana fled to France in 1999, where he obtained refugee status. He settled in Mordelles, near the city of Rennes. He obtained French nationality in 2005 and changed his name to Philippe Manier.
Amnesty International France recalls that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law.
Legal proceedings
September 22, 2015: The High Court opens a judicial investigation against Hategekimana.<br />
2017: Hategekimana leaves France for Cameroon.<br />
2018: An investigating judge of the specialized unit issues an international arrest warrant against him.<br />
March 30, 2018: Hategekimana is arrested in Yaoundé, Cameroon. France requests his extradition in order to try him before the French courts.<br />
February 2019: Cameroon grants France’s extradition request. Hategekimana is brought before the Paris investigating judges on February 15, 2019 and is placed in pre-trial detention in a remand prison in Nanterre.<br />
September 20, 2021: The investigating judges order the committal of Hategekimana to trial for “genocide,” “complicity in genocide,” “crimes against humanity” and “participation in a group formed with a view to preparing these crimes.” The accused appeals this order.<br />
January 19, 2022: The Paris Court of Appeal upholds the committal to the Assize Court, in particular for “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.” The court adds to the charges the massacre allegedly committed at the Rwandan Institute of Agricultural Sciences, which had been excluded from the 2021 indictment.<br />
June 28, 2023: The Paris Assize Court sentences Hategekimana to life imprisonment for “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.”<br />
July 4, 2023: Hategekimana appeals his conviction.<br />
From November 4 to December 17, 2024: Philippe Manier’s appeal trial is held before the Paris Court of Appeal.<br />
December 17, 2024: The Paris Assize Court upholds the sentence of life imprisonment for “crimes against humanity” and “complicity in crimes against humanity.” He is acquitted of the charge of “conspiracy to commit genocide”</p>
Complaint
Names of NGOs / Victim(s)
Survie
Licra
Legal basis for jurisdiction (article)
113-6 PC
Court of Assizes judgment
Court of Appeal ruling
Court of Cassation ruling
Sources
Survie, « Nos actions judiciaires concernant le génocide des Tutsis au Rwanda », 2019
CPCR, « Cour d'assises confirmée pour l'ex-gendarme Philippe Manier », 2022
Le Monde, « Génocide des Tutsi au Rwanda : des procès majeurs en attente en France », 2023