Rwanda awaits French courts’ verdicts

Following Wednesday’s request by French prosecutors to have recently arrested Genocide suspect Claver Kamana extradited to Rwanda for trial, Kigali has reiterated its ability to handle the case. Kamana, a former businessman was arrested in on February 26 following an Interpol red notice issued by the Rwandan Government for his suspected role in the 1994 Genocide. That is a good move by the French prosecution because that is what we requested them to do. We only hope that the judges will heed this request as well, John Bosco Mutangana, the spokesperson for Prosecution, told The New Times yesterday. He said that Rwanda has demonstrated the capacity and willingness to take on these trials. Our capacity can be measured in three categories, there is the legal point of view, as our legislation has been adjusted to suit the required standards; there is enhanced capacity in human resources and logistics for the accommodation of the suspects, said Mutangana. Kamana, who was a property mogul at the time of Genocide, is accused of six counts including Genocide, complicity to commit Genocide among others. Trials for the extradited suspects will be on first instance by the High Court and appeals will be logged at the Supreme Court. Cases at High Court are prosecuted by senior prosecutors, Mutangana said. Currently there are three suspects in French custody awaiting court ruling for extradition to Rwanda. Apart from Kamana, others are Isaac Kamali, and a Lieutenant Colonel in the ex-FAR Marcel Bivugabagabo. Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Charles Murigande said that the fact that France does not have an extradition treaty with Rwanda should not bar the extraditions. There are certain laws to which all UN member states are bound…for certain crimes, like terrorism and acts of genocide, extradition can take place without a treaty between member countries, Murigande said. He said that it depends on the political willingness of a particular country. Three other Genocide suspects are being held in France at the request of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). They are Fr Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, Laurent Bucyibaruta and Dominique Ntawukuriryayo. A French court recently ruled that the former be extradited to ICTR for trial while, the UN tribunal requested that the other two be tried in French courts. The recent arrests of key fugitives came after a government-appointed team of prosecutors and police officers published a list of 96 key suspects hiding in different parts of the world. Since then, at least ten have been arrested, mostly in European countries.|Ends

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Rwanda awaits French courts’ verdicts