French Appeals Court Orders Resumption of Investigation Into Agathe Habyarimana’s Alleged Role in 1994 Rwandan Genocide

A French appeals court overturned the dismissal of a long-running investigation into Agathe Habyarimana on Wednesday, ordering that the probe into her alleged role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide must resume. The Paris appeals court ruled on May 6, 2026 that the case against the 83-year-old former first lady should move forward.

France is reopening the probe after the decision, which came in response to an appeal of a dismissal issued last year.

Agathe Habyarimana has been under investigation in France since 2007, when the Collective of Civil Parties for Rwanda filed a complaint against her. A further complaint was filed in 2008 by several non-governmental organizations including the International Federation for Human Rights, Survie, and the Collective of Plaintiffs for Rwanda.

She is suspected of complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity, crimes that are not subject to any statute of limitations.

The case centers on whether Agathe Habyarimana played a role in planning or encouraging the mass killings that followed the assassination of her husband, Juvénal Habyarimana, on April 6, 1994. The violence following Juvénal Habyarimana's assassination killed around 800,000 people over three months, according to the United Nations, mainly ethnic Tutsis.

Civil parties argue that Agathe Habyarimana was a key figure in the Akazu.

Agathe Habyarimana has consistently denied the allegations. She says she was a mother of eight with no political role. In their August 2025 ruling, the investigating judges described Agathe Habyarimana as a victim of the attack that killed her husband and several relatives.

In 2025, two Paris investigating judges dismissed the case against Agathe Habyarimana citing insufficient evidence. The dismissal ruling was issued on August 21, 2025. That ruling is now under appeal, and the case is before the Investigating Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal.

France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office challenged the 2025 dismissal ruling. In submissions dated January, the Advocate General called the dismissal premature. The Advocate General cited serious and corroborating evidence suggesting Agathe Habyarimana's involvement in a conspiracy and support for genocidal intent.

The Advocate General said the investigation remained incomplete, citing ignored or rejected requests from 2022 and 2024 for further inquiries including witness testimony, confrontations and a review of Habyarimana's asylum. He said those requests were ignored or rejected by the investigating judges.

The Advocate General added that the imperative of speed should not outweigh the search for truth in a case of historical significance.

Agathe Habyarimana has never been formally charged. Since 2016, she has held the legal status of an assisted witness. She has lived in exile in France since 2004 and remains a free woman at 83. Her lawyer Philippe Meilhac called the appeals court decision a dark day for French justice.

"So much time wasted," he said. " Alain Gauthier, head of the CPCR, has insisted the Akazu network existed and said Agathe Habyarimana held significant influence within it. He noted that although France has secured several genocide-related convictions since 2014, much remains to be done.

For survivors and victims' families, he said, the ruling will test whether the French justice system can meet their expectations.