Ntawukuriryayo, was arrested in France on 16 October. During the hearing, he disputed the facts which are charged against him by the ICTR, describing them as "pure fiction" and "lies". Mr. Ntawukuriryayo is accused by the ICTR of being responsible, directly and indirectly, for the deaths of at least 25 000 Tutsis, between 21 and 25 April 1994, that had taken refuge on Kabuye hill.
If the defendant said that he did not fear justice, he regretted that the ICTR "did not call him in a convenient time" because he would have come to plead his case. Today, he explained, he fears of not being able to be tried by the ICTR, whose mandate is to be completed by the end of 2008, and fears of being extradited to Rwanda where he assures that he will not have a "fair trial".
Dominique Ntawukuriryayo was arrested on 16 October in Carcassonne; a French city where he resided since 2000. He arrived in France in 1999. According to his lawyers, he always had legal residence.
The representative of the prosecution of the Court of Appeal of Paris specified Wednesday that there were no prosecutions in France against this Rwandan national at the moment of his arrest.
Since, a complaint has been filed before the senior investigating magistrates of the first instance court of Paris. Even if he is on the list of people wanted by Rwanda, no extradition request has been made by Kigali, pointed out the prosecuting attorney.
In 2006, Rwandans had filed a complaint in Carcassonne against this former sub-prefect of Gisagara (southern Rwanda). The complaint had been classified without follow-up, the investigators had not found the residence of Mr. Ntawukuriryayo.
The Court of Appeal of Paris must also render on 21 November its decision relating to the transfer request to the ICTR of two Rwandans, Wenceslas Munyeshyeka and Laurent Bucyibaruta.
AP/PB/MM
© Hirondelle News Agency