Dafroza Gauthier, a Rwandan genocide survivor who pursued alleged perpetrators living in France for three decades, died from cancer at age 72.
Gauthier filed repeated civil lawsuits against Rwandans accused of participating in the 1994 genocide, according to reporting from AllAfrica citing RFI. Working alongside her husband Alain, she pressed the French legal system to prosecute suspects who had fled Rwanda and resettled in France.
The campaigns by Gauthier and her husband forced French authorities to confront cases that might otherwise have gone dormant. Their legal strategy relied on civil suits rather than waiting for state prosecution, a method that proved effective in holding fugitives accountable under French jurisdiction.
No additional details about her specific cases, the outcomes of her lawsuits, or her background as a genocide survivor appear in the available material.