Genocide suspect denied bail in US

KIGALI - A genocide suspect, imprisoned in the United States, since June, has been denied bail by a judge who argued that the suspect is likely to flee before trial. Beatrice Munyenyezi, 40, was arrested by the US authorities following an indictment for providing false information when applying to enter the U.S and obtain citizenship. U.S. Magistrate, Judge Landya McCafferty ruled that Munyenyezi pose a serious flight risk if she is released.The judge ruled out the option of placing Munyenyezi on electronic monitoring, saying the device would alert the government only after she had fled. In her ruling, McCafferty cited sealed evidence that Munyenyezi lied when testifying in 2006 before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) investigating genocide allegations against her husband and others. The judge said that Munyenyezi has admitted she testified falsely. “Given her deceitful conduct in the past, the court is concerned about relying on any promise by Munyenyezi that she will abide by bail conditions and appear as ordered for trial,” McCafferty wrote. “The weight of the evidence against Munyenyezi is strong and involves multiple eyewitnesses to Munyenyezi’s role in the genocide,” Munyenyezi is married to Arsene Shalom Ntahobali who is currently facing trial at the ICTR alongside his mother Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the former Minister of Gender and the only woman to be tried at the UN tribunal. They are accused of spearheading widespread massacres of Tutsi in the former Butare Prefecture, currently in the Southern Province. Ends

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Genocide suspect denied bail in US