Widow of Rwandan ex-president arrested
Source: Agencies |
March 3, 2010, Wednesday
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THE widow of Rwanda's former President Juvenal Habyarimana, who is suspected of having instigated the country's 1994 genocide, was arrested near Paris yesterday.
An international arrest warrant for Agathe Habyarimana was issued late last year by Rwandan authorities, who have called on Paris to pursue genocide suspects living in France.
Agathe's detention comes just a week after French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Rwanda where he admitted that Paris had made serious errors of judgment over the genocide and said he wanted all those responsible for the killings to be punished.
Rwandan authorities welcomed Agathe's arrest. "At long last the long arm of the law is finally taking its course," said Rwanda's Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama.
France and Rwanda broke off diplomatic relations in 2006 after a Paris judge accused Rwanda's current President Paul Kagame and nine aides of shooting down Habyarimana's plane in April 1994, a catalyst for the massacre in which 800,000 people were killed in less than 100 days.
Agathe left Rwanda three days after her husband died and moved to France, but Rwandan authorities are convinced she played a key role in plotting the slaughter.
The head of Rwanda's genocide fugitive tracking unit said it had asked for Agathe's extradition. "Our priority is to have her tried in Rwanda because this is where she committed crimes against the Rwandan people," said Jean Bosco Mutangana.
Rwanda has accused the administration of former French President Francois Mitterrand of having trained and armed the Hutu militias that were behind the killings.
An international arrest warrant for Agathe Habyarimana was issued late last year by Rwandan authorities, who have called on Paris to pursue genocide suspects living in France.
Agathe's detention comes just a week after French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Rwanda where he admitted that Paris had made serious errors of judgment over the genocide and said he wanted all those responsible for the killings to be punished.
Rwandan authorities welcomed Agathe's arrest. "At long last the long arm of the law is finally taking its course," said Rwanda's Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama.
France and Rwanda broke off diplomatic relations in 2006 after a Paris judge accused Rwanda's current President Paul Kagame and nine aides of shooting down Habyarimana's plane in April 1994, a catalyst for the massacre in which 800,000 people were killed in less than 100 days.
Agathe left Rwanda three days after her husband died and moved to France, but Rwandan authorities are convinced she played a key role in plotting the slaughter.
The head of Rwanda's genocide fugitive tracking unit said it had asked for Agathe's extradition. "Our priority is to have her tried in Rwanda because this is where she committed crimes against the Rwandan people," said Jean Bosco Mutangana.
Rwanda has accused the administration of former French President Francois Mitterrand of having trained and armed the Hutu militias that were behind the killings.
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