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Norway’s Supreme Court Upholds Extradition Of Rwanda Genocide Suspect

Norway’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday in Oslo, that a 42-year-old, Eugene Nkuranyabahizi should be extradited to Rwanda to stand trial over alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide in the Central African country.

Nkuranyabahizi, a former school teacher, was accused of taking part in massacres that killed about 7,500 people.

The four judges were unanimous in their ruling, which upheld two lower court decisions that there were sufficient grounds for Nkuranyabahizi’s extradition.

They said as part of the case, the courts heard testimony from witnesses compiled by Norwegian police investigators who visited Rwanda.

The Supreme Court ruling said he was implicated in coordinating attacks by Interahamwe militia that targeted Tutsis at the Akanyaru River as they tried to flee to neighbouring Burundi and an attack on people who had sought refuge in a Catholic church in Cyahinda.

Nkuranyabahizi, a Hutu, has denied complicity in the genocide, which is estimated to have claimed the lives of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

In 2005, Nkuranyabahizi applied for Norwegian citizenship but was denied because Norwegian authorities had been alerted about his alleged involvement in the genocide.

In May 2013, he was remanded into custody in Norway, and later that year, Rwanda requested his extradition.

Nkuranyabahizi has lived in Norway since 1999, where he married a Rwanda-born woman.

His attorney had argued that an extradition would harm the couple’s three children, who are all minors, and Norwegian citizens.

In 2013, Norway extradited another genocide suspect to Rwanda. (dpa/NAN)

Source: http://leadership.ng/

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