Survivors of Rwanda's genocide have welcomed a recent Norwegian court ruling to extradite a man accused of taking part in the massacres, to stand trial in a Rwandan court.
41-year-old Eugene Nkuranyabahizi, who has been living in Norway since 1999, was arrested in May last year, accused of participating in the massacre of Tutsis in Rwanda. The 1994 genocide saw at least 800,000 people killed.
A court ruling on Wednesday confirmed that Nkuranyabahizi could be extradited, a decision welcomed by Rwandan genocide survivor Theogene Karasira, who said,
Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, president of Ibuka, an umbrella association of genocide survivors also praised the ruling, saying,
41-year-old Eugene Nkuranyabahizi, who has been living in Norway since 1999, was arrested in May last year, accused of participating in the massacre of Tutsis in Rwanda. The 1994 genocide saw at least 800,000 people killed.
A court ruling on Wednesday confirmed that Nkuranyabahizi could be extradited, a decision welcomed by Rwandan genocide survivor Theogene Karasira, who said,
"We highly welcome the ruling by the Norway court and this gives us hope that justice will prevail. We lost our loved ones and relatives to beasts like Nkuranyabahizi now it's time for them to face the law."
Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, president of Ibuka, an umbrella association of genocide survivors also praised the ruling, saying,
"We are so happy with the Norwegian court ruling and that is what we waiting for. This is a relief to us as genocide survivors because it will give us an opportunity to witness case sessions and participate in the whole process fairly."Rwanda prosecution spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda indicated that the search for genocide suspects did not end with this case, saying,
"We appreciate Norway's effort towards extraditing genocide suspects to Rwanda and we hope to work together and apprehend more genocide fugitives that might be hiding in Norway.”