EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA
IN THE NETHERLANDS
The Hague ,24 January 2012
Canada deported Leon Mugesera, to face justice in Rwanda where he called for extermination of Tutsi in his famous 1992 speech. This deportation ends Mugesera’s 15-year legal battle to avoid returning to Rwanda.
Leon Mugesera is expected to land at Kigali International airport this Tuesday 24. For reasons of operational security, Canadian authorities would not confirm his departure.
However, Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews' spokesman Mike Patton, said that "Canada has been resolute in its determination to see Leon Mugesera face justice in connection with allegations of promoting the genocide of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Rwanda in the early 1990s."
Mugesera, now 59, made an infamous speech in 1992 that played a major role in sparking the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, in which radical ethnic Hutus killed over one million Tutsis.
Two Canadian courts earlier Monday rejected last-ditch appeals to delay his deportation for six months so the United Nations Committee Against Torture could probe a claim that he faces political persecution in Rwanda.
Mugesera is among the first Western refugee claimants to be sent back to face charges in Rwanda. His deportation follows the case of Jean Uwinkindi who will also face justice in Rwanda for his role in genocide against the Tutsi. His file was handed over to Rwandan Prosecution Authority by International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) last week.
The continued handing over of genocide suspects and perpetrators to Rwandan judiciary is an international community acknowledgement of the important advancements Rwanda has made in terms of law reform and capacity building within the justice system. The Rwandan legal system is consistent with international standards.
As the Gacaca courts system has proven, Rwandans are committed to a form of justice that respects the rights of all concerned, as well as facilitating reconciliation.
Contact:
Eric RUGAMBA
Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda, The Hague
+31 70 392 65 71
erugamba@minaffet.gov.rw
