Norway extends Genocide suspect's detention

A Court in Norway yesterday remanded, Sadi Bugingo, a Genocide suspect who was arrested last month, for another two months. Bugingo, 45, is accused of killing Tutsis in the former Kibungo Prefecture, now in the Eastern Province, during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. His arrest followed a two-year investigation by Norwegians investigators who visited Rwanda and recorded over 50 statements from eyewitnesses. AFP yesterday reported that Bugingo who had lived in the Norwegian town of Bergen with his family since 2002, was remanded by the Oslo court due to the gravity of the charges against him. He is the second Rwandan to be arrested in Norway for an alleged role in the Genocide after Charles Bandora, who was arrested last year. John Bosco Siboyintore, the acting head of the Genocide Fugitive Tracking Unit (GFTU) welcomed the decision, and said that it will help the prosecutors gather more substantial evidence. He noted that Rwanda is still waiting to see if Norway will honour the request to extradite Bugingo either to be tried or serve his sentence from here. “We sent the extradition request in 2008. They came here and carried out their own investigations for the last two years. They visited crime scenes and recorded statements,” Siboyintore said. “We don’t know yet if they will use the recorded statements to extradite him or to try him in their jurisdiction. But our initial request was to have him extradited to Rwanda. Extraditing suspects is always our priority”. Ends

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Norway extends Genocide suspect's detention