Norway: Siltanews – News Desk
COPENHAGEN: Norway will extradite a man to Rwanda on the East African country’s request, to stand trial on charges of committing murder during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, Norwegian police said on Tuesday.
The Oslo district court ruled in September 2023 that the conditions for extradition had been met, and Norway’s Supreme Court in June last year affirmed the ruling after the defendant appealed the initial decision, police said in a statement.
Norway’s justice ministry decided on February 14 that the man, who was arrested in the Nordic country in 2022, should be extradited to Rwanda, citing its obligation under the United Nations Genocide Convention to do so, police said.
The genocide was rooted in long-standing ethnic tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi groups, exacerbated by colonial rule and political power struggles.
Civil War: The Rwandan Civil War began in 1990 when the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded Rwanda from Uganda.
Assassination: On April 6, 1994, the plane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down, killing him and sparking the genocide.
Genocide Begins: The genocide started on April 7, 1994, with Hutu extremists targeting Tutsi and moderate Hutu leaders.
Mass Killings: Over the next 100 days, an estimated 800,000 people, primarily Tutsi, were killed in brutal and systematic attacks.
International Response: The international community largely failed to intervene, despite the scale of the atrocities.
RPF Victory: The RPF resumed military operations and eventually defeated the government forces, ending the genocide by July 1994.
Aftermath: The genocide led to significant regional instability, with many perpetrators and refugees fleeing to neighboring countries