Rwanda has welcomed an order by a Danish court to extradite Emmanuel Mbarushimana, who has been living in Denmark, back to the country to face charges relating to his role in the 1994 Genocide.

Mr Mbarushimana has lived in Denmark for the past 12 years. In 2008, he was charged and convicted in absentia in Rwanda on genocide charges.

Two years later, he was arrested by Danish police in connection with the charges, setting off a long period of legal wrangling between the Danish and Rwandan authorities. 

Prosecutor-General Martin Ngoga said he hoped the suspect would be brought back to Rwanda soon to face charges.

He told Rwanda Today: “We have learnt about the decision and we welcome it. We hope the Danish political authorities will take steps to swiftly implement the extradition.”

Could not charge him with genocide

In 2011, both Roskilde City Court and the Eastern High Court ruled that prosecutors could not charge the man with genocide, but only with murder.

In April this year, the Supreme Court overruled those previous decisions, declaring that he could be tried on genocide charges in the Danish court system.

The Rwandan authorities repeatedly criticised Denmark’s handling of the case and officially demanded the extradition of the former headteacher, who has denied all the charges.

In June, the Danish Justice Ministry agreed with the Rwandan request and ruled that he could be extradited That decision cleared the way for the last round of legal battles.

On November 19, the Roskilde court ruled that Mr Mbarushimana should now be extradited, despite his lawyer’s argument that the 50-year-old would be killed if he was delivered back to his homeland.

The city court’s decision is expected to be appealed and work its way back to the Supreme Court and possibly even to the European Court of Human Rights. 

Accused of killing ‘many Tutsis’

The Rwandan is accused of killing “many Tutsis” in April and May of 1994 at road blocks and also of killing a large group of Tutsis at Kabuye Hill in April 1994.

The victims had been told they would find shelter at the hill but were attacked instead.

More than 800,000 were killed in the genocide within three months.

Additional reporting by The Copenhagen Post