According to the ruling, statute of limitations applied to some of the crimes, while other imprescriptible crimes were committed before the Rwandan 2004 law on genocide was voted.
The Prosecutor had himself recommended that the extradition request be rejected, arguing that the law could not be retroactive.
Félicien Baligira, 65, left Rwanda in July 1994. He was granted political asylum in France in 2006, before acquiring the citizenship in 2007.
Rwandan issued an international arrest warrant against him in March 2011. The indictment was transmitted to the French Judiciary in September.
According to Rwanda, Félicien Baligira « held meetings to promote hate against Tutsis in Cyangugu region, conspired to commit genocide, and supervised killings perpetrated by Interahamwe after April 11, leading to the death of 6,000 Tutsis who had sought refuge in Mibilizi parish, Changi and Cyangugu”.
Last week, a French appeals court in Rouen agreed that Claude Muhayimana, a Franco-rwandan suspect, should be extradited to Rwanda to face charges of genocide for crimes allegedly committed in Kibuye region in 1994
FP/GF