First UK charges brought over 1994 Rwanda genocide

Fonte da imagem, Eye Ubiquitous/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesLegenda da imagem, The Metropolitan Police disse que as acusações seguem uma "investigação complexa e extensa de sete anos.

• Published21 September 2026, 17:33 BST.

A Rwandan man, who has been living in north London, has become the first person charged in the UK with offences relating to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.

Dr Vincent Brown, formerly Dr Vincent Bajinya, 65, has been charged with one offence of conduct ancillary to genocide and six offences of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity.

Frank Ferguson, chefe da Divisão de Crimes Especiais e Contra-Terrorismo do CPS, disse que Brown "é acusado de ter dirigido e incitado atos de assassinato e genocídio realizados por outros.

Brown will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Ferguson said the decision to charge Brown was made "after reviewing a file of evidence submitted by the War Crimes Team at the Metropolitan Police.

Concluímos que nosso teste legal para apresentar acusações criminais havia sido atendido," ele acrescentou.

The War Crimes Team began their investigation in September 2019 after a formal request from the Rwandan government to investigate people allegedly involved in a genocide in the Rugenge district of Kigali in April 1994.

Over the course of 100 days in 1994, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus people were killed in Rwanda by Hutu extremists.

Eles estavam visando membros da comunidade Tutsi minoritária, bem como seus opositores políticos, independentemente de sua origem étnica.

As forças predominantemente tutsis que assumiram o poder após o genocídio foram acusadas de ter matado milhares de hutus no Ruanda em retaliação.

The Metropolitan Police said the charges against Brown follow "a complex and extensive seven-year investigation.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: "This case demonstrates the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes.

As Equipes de Crimes de Guerra permanecem comprometidas em garantir que os suspeitos de envolvimento em genocídio e outros crimes de atrocidade sejam responsabilizados por meio do devido processo legal.

A number of other investigations remain ongoing into other individuals in the UK for similar offences related to the genocide in Rwanda.