French authorities on Tuesday handed over indicted war criminal Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Kamuhanda will now face prosecution on several counts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity.
Kamuhanda, a former Rwandan education minister, is accused of organizing killings in the Gikomero commune in April 1994. According to ICTR, he was a "high-ranking" member of a Hutu rebel organization (UN Newservice, 8 Mar). "On several occasions he is said to have distributed firearms, grenades and machetes to militias, and personally led attacks against Tutsi civilians ho had taken refuge in the parish compound at Gikomero and the school attached," the indictment reads (BBC Online, 8 Mar).
Kamuhanda is now being held at the UN detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania, and will make an appearance before an ICTR trial chamber "as soon as possible." He was arrested in France in November, and French courts approved his extradition in February (UN Newservice).
France Orders Another Extradition
Earlier this week, a French appeals court ordered the extradition of Xavier
Nzuwonemeye to ICTR to stand trial for crimes against humanity. He is also
accused of the slaughter of Tutsis in 1994. Nzuwonemeye's lawyer has opposed the
extradition, saying the suspect suffers from AIDS and is to ill to stand trial
(Associated Press/CNN Interactive, 6 Mar).
What Effect Will The Barayagwiza Case Have?
A Nairobi Daily Nation commentary examines the case of Jean-Bosco
Barayagwiza, a Hutu politician whose release sparked a controversy between
ICTR and the Rwandan government. Carla del Ponte, the chief ICTR prosecutor,
has appealed the decision to release the suspect.
"The appeals chamber's decision - whether to stick to its earlier decision to release Barayagwiza or allow him to be tried - is expected soon," writes E.D. Matthew. "Either way, it is likely to stir up a hornet's nest" (E.D. Matthew, Nairobi Daily Nation, 9 Mar).
