Hunting down genocide suspects: With the Franco-Rwandan couple seeking justice
Issued on:
Thirty years ago, more than 800,000 people were killed during the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda. Among them were several dozen members of Dafroza Gauthier's family. A few months later, the young woman and her French husband decided to track down those suspected of taking part in the mass slaughter who had taken refuge in France. Journalists Thomas Zribi and Stéphane Jobert followed the Franco-Rwandan couple in their quest for justice. They bring us this special 52-minute documentary.
In 1994, Alain and Dafroza Gauthier were living a peaceful life in Reims, in northeastern France. He was the headmaster of a secondary school; she was a chemical engineer. The Franco-Rwandan couple had two daughters and a son. But that spring, the last genocide of the 20th century began. More than 800,000 people, most of them Tutsis, were exterminated by the Hutu authorities. Among them were several dozen members of Dafroza's family.
A few months later, the Gauthiers began a battle that they have been waging ever since. They decided to investigate Rwandans accused of taking part in the genocide who had taken refuge in France. There were dozens of them: teachers, doctors, security guards and even priests.
Read moreGenocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda: how historians reckon with the horror
With Paris refusing to extradite the suspects to Kigali, it was up to the French courts to try them under universal jurisdiction. This required gathering evidence or testimonies to be able to file a complaint. Alain and Dafroza Gauthier thus decided to set off for Rwanda to meet survivors who could testify. They also interviewed perpetrators behind bars in prison.
Over more than 20 years, the Franco-Rwandan couple have managed to file around 30 complaints. Thanks to them, seven men have been brought to justice and sentenced to long prison terms. The most recent, Philippe Hategekimana, was tried before the Paris criminal court between May and June 2023. In this documentary, we follow the Gauthiers on the trail of Hategekimana in Rwanda, right up to the court's guilty verdict and sentence of life imprisonment.
A 52-minute documentary by Thomas Zribi and Stéphane Jobert for LCP-Assemblée Nationale. Edited by Soline Braun. A Nova Production film.
Watch moreRwanda races to digitise genocide documents
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe