UK Court Agrees to Extradite Rwandan Genocide Suspects

A British court on Friday backed a request by the Rwanda government to transfer four men suspected of committing genocide and other related crimes during the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, a press statement from the Rwandan UK embassy issued on Saturday said.

In a court ruling read out Friday by the Designated District Judge of the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court Anthony Evans, the suspects’ legal team failed to convince the court that the Rwandan judiciary was incompetent and that it lacked independence to provide equal justice to the accused.

The four; Célestin Ugirashebuja was arrested in Essex, Charles Munyaneza in Bedford, Emmanuel Nteziryayo in Manchester, while Dr Vincent Bajinya was arrested in north London. The four have been fighting the extradition request since December 2006.

“Apart from the logistical and practical difficulties of bringing witnesses both prosecution and defense from Rwanda, it is the correct course of action for the trials to take place in Rwanda and that is not a disproportionate response,” Judge Evans said.,

“This is indicative not only of the availability of witnesses, but also of the independence of the courts.”

In Kigali, the government welcomed the decision, describing it as a testimony that the country has the necessary capacity to handle high profile genocide cases.

“We believe it is a good decision and an indication of an independent and professional justice system in the country. Indeed we have met the criteria given the preparations that we have already made to enable us receive cases from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and in any country all over the world,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Tharcisse Karugarama said on Saturday in an interview in Kigali.

He also disclosed that Rwanda would file an amicus curie brief with the ICTR Appeals Chamber to overturn the recent decision by a lower trial chamber to block the transfer of genocide cases to Rwanda.

Source African Press Agency

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