The Rwandan government released a statement Monday that French Magistrates Jean-Marc Herbaut and Nathalie Poux closed an ongoing investigation last Friday, into the 1994 downing of former Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana’s plane.

Habyarimana, a member of the Hutu ethnic majority, died in April 1994 when his plane was shot down near the Rwandan capital. The assassination marked a turning point in the struggle for domestic control of the country and was followed by a genocide that resulted in the loss of an estimated 800,000 people, most of them members of the Tutsi minority. France opened an investigation into the plane crash at the request of families of the French flight crew. 

The justices closed this investigation after a prosecutor recommended that the charges be dismissed due to a lack of evidence. Philippe Meilhac, the lawyer representing the Rwandan president’s widow, has appealed the decision. Emmanuel Bidanda, who represents the French crew members who were on the plane, is also considering appealing the decision.

The Rwandan government’s statement said that they welcome this decision. Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa, the President of ISHAKWE-Rwanda Freedom Movement, published an opinion on Wednesday, berating the involvement of the French government in this investigation and in providing justice to the victims.