20.04.11 - RWANDA/BELGIQUE - RWANDAN GENOCIDE SUSPECT ARRESTED IN BELGIUM

Brussels, April 20 2011 (FH) - Mathias Bushishi, a former prosecutor in Butare (South of Rwanda) was arrested in Brussels on Monday following an international arrest warrant issued by Rwanda for war crimes and genocide. He is accused of helping to plan the massacre of Tutsis in his region.

Interpol had been looking for the 71-year old man since 2009. He was arrested in his flat in Laeken, a Brussels' neighborhood. He will appear before a court on Friday, which will decide if he should remain in custody or be released.

Bushishi could be tried in Belgium under a law of "universal jurisdiction" that allows the national courts to hear cases of crimes against humanity, according to the prosecutor's office.

His detention follows the arrest of two other genocide suspects in late March, identified by the Rwandan ‘New Times" and by the daily " La libre Belgique" as Ernest Gakwaya, aka Camarade, and Emmanuel Nkunzuwimye, aka Bomboko."

Four Rwandans have already been convicted in Belgian courts for involvement in the genocide.

BF/ER /GF

 © Agence Hirondelle

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