The hearings in the trial of Charles Onana ended Friday October 11 before the Paris criminal court. The Franco-Cameroonian journalist appeared there throughout the week for contesting the crime of genocide. In question: his book published in 2019, Rwanda: the truth about Operation Turquoisein which the prosecutor accuses him of “minor[er] » and “banalis[er] » the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda, in 1994. He denies it and pleads for release.
4 mins
It was in a packed room, under tension, and under the guard of several police officers that the hearings in the trial of Franco-Cameroonian journalist Charles Onana for contesting the crime of genocide ended on Friday October 11. For the prosecutor, at least four extracts from her book entitled Rwanda: the truth about Operation Turquoise constitute “ an abrupt, frontal, and without any detour negation » of the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994. You have there the entire negationist arsenal ”, she also concluded in her indictment, considering that the author had “ clearly exceeded the limits of freedom of expression » in « undermining » and in “ trivializing » the existence of tragedy.
According to her, the contentious remarks of Charles Onana testify to a “ reductive and erroneous approach because it deliberately omits the finality [du génocide, NDLR] : the total or partial destruction of the Tutsi group “. The last to speak before the end of the debates, the 60-year-old Franco-Cameroonian author once again rejected outright the accusation of negationism and denounced a political trial: “ I am not here for the denial of the genocide. I am here because Mr. Paul Kagame decided I needed to be here “, he declared in particular, provoking a few murmurs of disapproval in the room but above all applause.
“ He creates confusion and seeks to reverse roles »
Charles Onana could count on many supporters in the room, notably the Congolese who see in this trial a resonance with the ongoing war in the East of the DRC between the Congolese army and its allies on one side, the M23 and the Rwandan army on the other. For them, Charles Onana is a spokesperson for the crimes committed for 30 years in this region and still unpunished.
On the way out, in front of some of his supporters brandishing Congolese flags, Charles Onana goes further by accusing the civil parties of being in the pay of the Rwandan president: “ I know that [Paul] Kagame had requested the head of prosecutor Carla Del Ponte from the ICTR [Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda, NDLR]and he got it. He had also asked for the destruction of Judge Bruguière’s investigation, and he got it. Today, he asks for the head of Charles Onana, but he won’t get it! “. For the civil parties, these remarks demonstrate, once again, what Charles Onana’s strategy was throughout the hearings: “ He changes the subject. He creates confusion and seeks to reverse the roles between victims and executioners by claiming that he is the victim of a conspiracy », Reacts Sabrina Goldman, Licra’s lawyer.
Diversion maneuver
During her pleading, in front of the judges, the latter had already invited the court to “ don’t get the subject wrong » : « what you have to judge are the comments published by Charles Onana. This is not a trial on History (…). We can say what we want about Paul Kagame’s regime: that’s not the subject “, she said.
For his part, Charles Baudouin, the FIDH lawyer, denounces a diversion maneuver. “ Throughout the trial, with the witnesses he called, Charles Onana constantly tried not to mention the reality of the accusations made against him. On the other hand, he criticized us for not taking into account the human rights violations committed by the RPF and the Kagame regime, he gets annoyed. Obviously, we are fighting the massive human rights violations committed by this regime today. It is monstrous to see the behavior of the Rwandan armed forces in the North-East of Congo in support of militias like the M23, but it is simply not the same subject “. During his pleading, Mr Baudoin took care to address the Congolese supporters of Charles Onana: “ I understand your revolt against Paul Kagame. But don’t let yourself be fooled! “, he declared to them.
In her indictment, the prosecutor invited the court to remind the defendant and the “sentire society the indisputable existence of the genocide of the Tutsis “. However, she did not suggest a sentence, leaving this question to the discretion of the court in the event of a conviction. The verdict will be delivered on December 9.
Also readTried in France, author Charles Onana denies denying the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda