Rwanda Makes Formal Request to Extradite Genocide Suspect From Sweden

Rwanda has formally filed a petition with the Swedish government requesting for the extradition of Rwandan national Sylvere Ahorugeze suspected of complexity in the 1994 genocide, the Rwandan minister of Justice and attorney general Tharcisse Karugarama confirmed on Monday.

Ahorugeze has been in detention in Sweden for about a month following 11 months in a Danish prison. He was detained in Denmark but released by the court for lack of evidence.

“It’s very true that we have officially made our request to the Swedish authorities for a possible extradition of the Rwandan genocide suspect who was arrested there recently,” Karugarama told APA by phone.

He said the request is accompanied with several documents of evidence to support Rwanda’s case.

He expressed faith in the Swedish authorities to fairly examine the request and accept the extradition of Ahorugeze so that he can face trial in Rwanda.

Karugarama said Rwanda sent 130 pages of documents and statements supporting the allegations against Ahorugeze who was detained in Sweden about a month ago on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity in Rwanda. He is alleged to have been involved in killings of dozens of people in his residence of Gikondo in Kigali.

But according to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) the bulky documents have first to be translated —a process likely to take about 20 days — before the prosecution can present its case against Ahorugeze to a Swedish district court within 8 days.

If the court upholds his detention the Supreme Court will then rule on the extradition, suggesting that a decision is not likely to be taken before late October, according to DPA.

Source African Press Agency

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