German authorities have detained a German-Rwandan man on suspicion of aiding the 1994 Rwandan genocide, a massacre that left more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead. Investigators also believe he personally took part in the killing of one victim.
The man, identified as Innocent S., allegedly served as an assistant to the mayor of Kayove and, in that role, ordered the execution of 25 Tutsis. He is further accused of compiling death lists and stoking violence against Tutsis in the town.
Prosecutors are bringing the case under universal jurisdiction, which permits German courts to try grave international crimes regardless of where they occurred. In April 1994, Hutu militias launched the mass killings of the Tutsi minority after a month-long hate campaign supported by the government.
