The appeal hearing of Cameroonian author Charles Onana against his conviction for denying and minimising the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi has been postponed to June 2027.
The Paris Court of Appeal was due to hear the case on September 2, but postponed the proceedings after Onana and his lawyers raised an issue with the court summons.
The defence argued that an error in the document issued by the court registry had affected their preparations for the appeal.
The court accepted the request and scheduled the hearing for June 2 and 3, 2027.
Onana was convicted by a Paris court in December 2024 over claims made in his 2019 book, Rwanda, la vérité sur l’Opération Turquoise: Quand les archives parlent.
The prosecution of Onana followed complaints from organisations including IBUKA France, CPCR and Survie.
In the book, Onana questioned the established historical account of the Genocide against the Tutsi, including whether it was planned. He also discussed the shooting down of former President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane and France’s Opération Turquoise.
Onana has denied that his writings amount to genocide denial, maintaining that they form part of his historical analysis.
The Paris court fined him €7,400 and ordered him to pay damages to organisations that brought the case. The book’s editor, Damien Serieyx, was also fined €5,000.
The two were ordered to pay a combined €11,000 in damages to the complainant organisations.
The appeal will now be heard in June 2027, giving the Court of Appeal an opportunity to review Onana’s conviction.
