Prosecutors in Rwanda called on governments across Europe to ensure genocide fugitives are prosecuted, following the successful conviction of a suspect for genocide in Sweden earlier this month.
Augustin Nkusi, spokesperson for the national prosecution body in Rwanda, praised the ruling but warned that genocide suspects still roam free across Europe.
“Twenty-two years down the road, it should be made clear to genocide suspects that they cannot escape justice forever,” he said. “We still have many genocide suspects in Europe roaming freely even with warrants for their arrest.”
Rwanda’s Genocide Fugitive Tracking Unit (GFTU) said over 1,100 fugitives are still at large across Europe including in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and much of Scandinavia.
His comments come as proceedings began in Paris last week against two former Rwandan mayors for their role in the 1994 genocide, which saw the deaths of at least 800,000 people.
Swedish court sentences man over Rwandan genocide (19 May 2016)
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