The Danish citizen Wenceslas Twagirayezu, who was acquitted earlier this year on charges of participation in genocide, has now had his ruling overturned by a Rwandan court. On Wednesday, Twagirayezu was found guilty of his involvement in the 1994 genocide, according to information shared by his family with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR).

Despite being acquitted of the charges just over six months ago, the prosecution in Rwanda opted to appeal the ruling. Throughout the proceedings, Twagirayezu has maintained his innocence, claiming that there must have been a case of mistaken identity.

The case against Twagirayezu has been extensive. After being arrested by Danish police in 2017, he was extradited to Rwanda the following year and has been incarcerated since then. The charges against him include the murder of at least 2,000 individuals and an alleged leadership role in the attacks on the Tutsi minority in northern Rwanda, where he previously worked as a primary school teacher.

Twagirayezu fled Rwanda and arrived in Denmark in 2001, acquiring Danish citizenship three years later. He worked as a warehouse worker until his arrest. In his defense, he stated that he was on vacation in Congo when the genocide began and therefore could not have participated in the alleged crimes.

The Rwandan genocide was one of the most brutal conflicts in recent history, resulting in the deaths of over 800,000 people, primarily from the Tutsi minority, between April and July 1994. The case against Twagirayezu reflects the deep scars of this tragic period in Rwanda’s history.