The Dutch Court of First instance has approved the extradition of a man suspected of taking part in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, to Rwanda where he will be put on trial.
The 37-year-old, Jean Claude Iyamuremye, was arrested in the Netherlands in July, for his alleged role in a militia that killed ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda.
Iyamuremye will face charges of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture.
The president of Ibuka, Dr Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, an organisation of genocide survivors, told The New Times,
“We highly welcome the ruling by the Dutch court and wish that the upper courts uphold it. It has been proven that the Rwandan courts can render fair trial to any case that is transferred or extradited here and we have no doubt Netherlands will extradite Iyamuremye”.
Under Dutch law, foreign suspects can be tried for genocide, if the act was committed after October 1970. Earlier this year, a Rwandan born Dutch citizen was jailed for genocide, in the first conviction of its kind.