Rwandan genocide: Kigali issues international arrest warrant against Aloys Ntiwiragabo

A Rwandan reads an article from TV5 on Aloys Ntiwiragabo. AFP

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Rwanda issued an international arrest warrant for Aloys Ntiwiragabo on Tuesday, August 25. The former head of intelligence during the 1994 genocide has already been under investigation by French justice since the end of July, triggered following revelations from the Mediapart newspaper.

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Investigators from the online newspaper found the soldier in France , in the suburbs of Orleans, about a hundred kilometers south of Paris. According to Mediapart , the man has lived there for "  at least 14 years  ". According to his lawyer interviewed by RFI , Aloys Ntiwiragabo is not hiding. But some genocide survivors fear that it will disappear again in the wild. Kigali's request could help speed up the procedure.

With this international arrest warrant, Rwandan justice probably does not expect an extradition. France has, until now, always refused to send suspected genocidaires to the land of a thousand hills to be tried there. On the other hand, one can think that Kigali hopes to see Aloys Ntiwiragabo arrested quickly.

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The Rwandan attorney general says he works with his French colleagues. But with this arrest warrant, Aimable Havugiyaremye is also putting pressure on them. Especially since according to  Mediapart , Interpol was also seized.

The Rwandan attorney general confesses to Mediapart a "  relief  " when he learned that the former intelligence chief was still alive. According to him, his services worked hard to draft an indictment in support of their arrest warrant. In the documents of international justice, Aloys Ntiwiragabo is presented as one of the thinkers of the Tutsi genocide.

He is said to have drawn up lists of people to be killed, including Hutu opponents. He had not been wanted by the Special Tribunal for Rwanda since 2004. Not for lack of clues, but for lack of time and resources.

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  • Rwanda
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