Appeal in Genocide convict’s case begins in Swedish court

The appeal trial of Genocide suspect Theodore Rukeratabaro in the Svea Court of Appeal in the Swedish capital Stockholm is expected to start on Monday, according to sources from the Nordic country. Rukeratabaro, who is also known as Tabaro, was in June handed a life sentence after being convicted for playing a role in the Genocide against the Tutsi, a development that Genocide survivors highly commended. The lower court found him guilty of Genocide and gross human rights violations, crimes he committed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, especially in parts of Western Province. Life is the heaviest sentence that can be rendered under the Swedish penal system. Rukeratabaro fled to Sweden in 1998 and obtained citizenship there in 2006. Rwanda, through the National Public Prosecutions Authority (NPPA) sent his indictment to Sweden on September 12, 2014. The convict has been living in Örebro, a Swedish city with 117,543 inhabitants. He altered his name to ‘Tabaro’ to evade justice. He was convicted for especially masterminding the massacre Tutsis that took place between April and May, 1994, in the present Winteko Sector of the current Rusizi District. READ ALSO: Government welcomes life sentence against Genocide suspect in Sweden Earlier, before the initial trial begun in a special Stockholm court last September, Swedish judges travelled to Rwanda to gather evidence. The Swedish court conviction of the 49-year-old man, in June, was actually the third conviction after Mbanenande Stanislas in 2014 and Berinkindi Claver in 2017. Mbanenande and Berinkidi - two other genocide convicts - were also sentenced to life in prison by Swedish courts.

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Appeal in Genocide convict’s case begins in Swedish court