A man suspected of participating in and leading killings in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has gone on trial for his alleged crimes in Canada, becoming only the second person in Canadian legal history to have done so.
Jacques Mungwarere faces four counts under Canada’s 2002 Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes act, which allows for prosecution regardless of where the alleged crimes took place. Mungwarere was arrested in November 2009 following a 6 year investigation, interviewing witnesses in both Canada and Rwanda. The trial commenced on Monday, with officials deciding not to elect a jury.
It is only Canada’s second war crimes trial in history, after Rwandan Desire Munyaneza was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity following a 2-year long court case, concluding in 2009. He is currently serving life in prison.
Members of Canada’s Rwandan diaspora have hailed the trial, with Odette Uwambaye, a genocide survivor who works as a counsellor for the Rwandan diaspora in Ottawa stating,
"It's still fresh. It will always be fresh. Whatever happened 18 years ago is still in my mind, it's still in my body.
With a further 1,500 alleged war criminals living in Canada, calls have been made for the government to do more to prosecute suspects, rather than deport them, as was the case with Léon Mugesera earlier this year.
The trial in Canada comes as the Danish Supreme Court has given the go ahead for a trial against another genocide suspect to get underway in September.
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