Norwegian court approves extradition of genocide suspect wanted by Rwanda

A man arrested in Norway who is wanted by Rwanda for his alleged role in the African nation’s 1994 genocide can be extradited, Norwegian police said Friday.

The man in his 40s, who was not identified, was arrested in the Norwegian capital of Oslo nearly a year ago based on an extradition request by Kigali.

Oslo District Court ruled Sept. 19 that the man can legally be extradited to Rwanda, police said. It is now up to the Scandinavian country’s justice ministry to decide whether he be deported, which is considered a formality.

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Thea Elise Kjæraas, a spokeswoman for Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service, known by its Norwegian acronym KRIPOS, said it had carried out “a number of investigations to clarify whether the conditions for extradition have been met.”

“We note that the district court shares KRIPOS’ assessment that the conditions for extradition have been met,” Kjæraas said.

An estimated 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda’s genocide, which took place over the course of three months in 1994 when members of the Hutu ethnic group turned on the minority Tutsis, slaughtering them and moderate Hutus who tried to protect them.