UK prosecutors charge first person for Rwanda genocide

UK prosecutors have charged Vincent Brown with offences linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, marking the first time such charges have been brought in the United Kingdom. Brown, a 65-year-old doctor who previously used the name Vincent Bajinya, was arrested and charged after a seven-year inquiry. Prosecutors say the allegations include directing and inciting acts of murder and genocide carried out by others. Brown was first detained in 2006. A UK court declined to extradite him to Rwanda in 2017, and Metropolitan Police war crimes investigators later reopened inquiries in 2019 at Rwanda's request. Authorities say the charges include one count of conduct ancillary to genocide and six counts of aiding crimes against humanity; Brown is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Originally from Kigali, Brown is reported to have arrived in the UK as an asylum seeker in 1998, later receiving British citizenship in 2004 and changing his name. He has lived in London and at one time worked for a charity that assisted refugee nurses and midwives seeking employment in Britain, according to previous reporting and statements from officials. Police indicated investigations are continuing into other Rwandan genocide suspects believed to be living in the UK. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counterterror policing, said the case demonstrates the UK will not serve as a safe haven for people suspected of international crimes. The Rwandan genocide resulted in about 800,000 deaths, mostly Tutsis, over roughly 100 days in 1994.