Mbarushimana extradition on track says prosecution

Procedures to extradite Genocide suspect Emmanuel Mbarushimana from Denmark are underway, according to a top official at the Genocide Fugitive Tracking Unit (GFTU).

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Procedures to extradite Genocide suspect Emmanuel Mbarushimana from Denmark are underway, according to a top official at the Genocide Fugitive Tracking Unit (GFTU).John Bosco Siboyintore, the Head of GFTU told The New Times, yesterday, his office was in touch with the Danish government to finalise procedures to hand over the suspect.Last month, the Danish Ministry of Justice announced plans to extradite Mbarushimana to Rwanda following a request from the Rwandan prosecution.Mbarushimana, 50, is accused of killing "many Tutsis” between April and May 1994 mainly at road blocks, as well as another group of Tutsis at Kabuye Hill in April 1994.The victims had been advised to gather at the hill for safety but were instead attacked. Previously, the Supreme Court of Denmark had ruled Danish courts would try the suspect for his alleged role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi before the Ministry of Justice revoked the decision."We are waiting to see if there will be a court hearing to replace the decision taken by the Supreme Court with that of the Ministry of Justice,” Siboyintore said. "We are working closely with the Denmark prosecution to speed up the deportation procedures”.The official, however, could not confirm whether the Genocide suspect would appeal the latest decision in the Human Rights Court of Justice."We want him tried in local courts,” he added A former inspector of schools in Butare prefecture, now Huye District, Mbarushimana has lived in the Scandinavian country since 2001. He has been in the custody of Danish police since his arrest at his home in the country’s Zealand region in December 2010.Since the establishment of GFTU in 2007, the office has issued indictments against 1,092 fugitives living in various parts of the world, with a handful resulting in arrests.Of the 1,092 files, 132 indictments and arrest warrants have been issued in 23 countries with seven Genocide fugitives having been extradited to the country to face justice.