Rwandan genocide denial

Rwandan genocide denial is the pseudohistorical assertion that the Rwandan genocide did not occur, specifically rejection of the scholarly consensus that Rwandan Tutsis were the victims of genocide between 7 April and 19 July 1994.^[1][2] The perpetrators, a small minority of other Hutu, and a fringe of Western writers dispute that reality.^[3][4]

Aspects of the genocide, such as the death toll,^[3][5][6] prior planning of the genocide,^[3][7][8] responsibility for the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana that triggered the genocide, war crimes (considered a second genocide by some) by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and whether the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda should have tried RPF leaders continue to be debated by scholars.^[3][9][10] The Tutsi death toll in the genocide as well as the number of Hutu perpetrators (to the point of collective guilt) is inflated by the RPF government compared to estimates by scholars.^[5] People with views that differ from the government position may be accused of genocide denial, even if they accept that Tutsi were the victims of genocide.^[3][4]

Denial of the Rwandan genocide is a crime in Rwanda, with laws against "genocide ideology" and "divisionism" used to target those who disagree with the government's official version of history and other critics of the government. Such laws have been accused of infringement on freedom of speech.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}