“Some hearings in the trial will be held in Kigali, Rwanda's capital, in late November and up to the middle of December,”prosecutor Magnus Elvin told Reuters. “The proceeding is expected to last until May next year.” Elvin was quoted as saying that the man is suspected of "the most serious crimes": genocide and crimes against international law. "Genocide is the most serious crime that there is, and it can bring a sentence of up to life in prison," Elvin said.The suspect is alleged to have shot, macheted and thrown hand grenades at ethnic Tutsis in several attacks in Kibuye province in west Rwanda and to have recruited young men to take part in massacres.Prosecutors did not disclose the name of the suspect, but according to the Rwandan community in Sweden, the man is Stanislas Mbanenande, a 54-year-old Hutu and civil engineer. Mbanenande was arrested in December 2011 at Stockholm's Bromma airport, following an extradition request from Rwanda. According to Rwandese refugees in Sweden, he was detained as he returned from Chad, where he was working for the United Nations.
The Rwandan extradition request came after Mbanenande was convicted in absentia by a semi-traditional gacaca court in Rwanda in in 2009, and sentenced to life in jail. Stockholm has rejected the extradition request because of the suspect’s Swedish citizenship. Mbanenande has been in Sweden since 2007, when he joined his family and obtained a residency permit based on family reunification grounds. FK/NI/JC