Finland holds Rwandan man suspected of involvement in genocide
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Porvoo District Court has remanded a Rwandan man in custody on suspicion of taking part in the 1994 genocide.
Before the events of the spring of 1994, the suspect worked as a pastor in Rwanda’s Baptist Church.
According to eyewitness accounts, the Hutu man led attacks against Tutsis in the southern part of the country.
About 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus are believed to have been killed in violence incited by hard-line Hutus.
The suspect, who was born in Burundi in 1951, has lived in Finland since 2003. He and his family have applied for political asylum in Finland, but the Directorate of Immigration has not yet made a decision in the matter.
The man was arrested on Thursday, suspected of planning and leading mass killings. On Friday he was remanded in custody.
The National Bureau of Investigation has investigated the man’s possible role in the genocide. His name was found on a list put out by the Rwandan government with names of suspects living abroad.
The investigation is taking place in cooperation with Rwandan legal authorities and the UN International War Crimes Tribunal.
Police expect the investigation to take several months.
The Directorate of Immigration is legally obliged to investigate well-founded suspicions of serious crimes, including war crimes, committed by asylum-seekers. Those believed to have committed serious crimes at home are not granted asylum, even if they were in need of protection.
However, repatriation is not allowed if the person in question faces the danger of torture, the death penalty, or other inhumane treatment.
The ban on repatriation in such cases trumps all other rules. For that reason, the Rwandan suspected of genocide could get a temporary residence permit in Finland if the Directorate of Immigration felt that he could face execution, and if there were no other country that would take him.
Since 1997, 55 Rwandans have applied for asylum, 34 of whom were given residence permits, and one was granted asylum.
Helsingin Sanomat
