Rwanda condemns refusal to extradite Swiss Genocide suspect

KIGALI - The Government of Rwanda has condemned the refusal by Switzerland to extradite Gaspard Ruhumuliza, a top Genocide suspect, to Rwanda to face genocide charges in the country. Switzerland on Wednesday revealed that it had refused a request to extradite the former Environment and Tourism Minister in the interim government to face genocide and war crimes charges. Rwanda filed the request to have him extradited on August 5th 2008. A statement released by the Swiss government states thus, “An extradition to Rwanda is impossible because of the situation in the state regarding human rights and because the suspicions put forward to support the request for extradition are not sufficiently backed up.” “The facts in the extradition request are not sufficiently detailed to allow Switzerland to determine if the conditions for extradition are fulfilled,” the statement further reads. Speaking to The Sunday Times Friday, Augustin Nkusi, the Spokesperson of the National Public Prosecution Authority said that it’s ‘unfortunate’ that the Swiss Government decided to ignore the request which had reasons justifying the need to have Ruhumuliza who is known to have committed a multitude of atrocities, extradited. According to the International arrest warrant issued for Ruhumuliza who is currently in detention in Switzerland, the former minister orchestrated the killing of thousands of Tutsis in Kigali and Gitarama. He is also known to have coordinated a countrywide mobilisation of interahamwe militia, urging them to participate in killings. A close accomplice of Theodore Sindikubwabo and John Kambanda, who headed the murderous government that coordinated the genocide, Ruhumuliza, a former member of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) is known to have ‘personally’ participated in killings and attacks on Tutsi, while he also directly armed militias with machetes, guns and grenades. “He participated directly with the murderous regime, driving around the country spreading the hate ideology that Tutsis were enemies and accomplices of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) before and after the Genocide,” the warrant seen by The Sunday Times reads in part. He is also remembered as one of the closest allies of Juvenal Habyarimana who participated in the formation and training of a young force of militias (Interahamwe) as early as 1992, that would later carry out the killings in 1994 that claimed over 1 million Tutsis. In a related development, 32 prosecution witnesses have been lined up to testify in the case of Francois Bazaramba, a Genocide suspect currently in detention in Finland. Officials from Porvoo District Court in Finland will soon arrive in the country to listen to the witnesses. Rwanda had earlier requested for the extradition of the former Baptist Church Minister who orchestrated the killings of over 5,000 people in Nyakizu, Butare in the Southern Province. Ends