Norway to extradite Rwanda genocide suspect

Members of the Memory Keepers Association, including survivors of the Rwandan genocide, their families, and supporters, participate in a commemorative rally marking the 31st anniversary of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, honoring the victims with dignity and solidarity, on April 13, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. [AFP]

Norway will extradite a man sought by Rwanda for his suspected role in the country's 1994 genocide, police said Friday.

In 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus died in 100 days of slaughter triggered by the assassination of the country's president, Juvenal Habyarimana.

The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was detained in October 2022 by Norway's criminal police Kripos. He was wanted by Rwanda for "committing a murder during the 1994 genocide", Kripos said in a statement.

The Oslo district court ruled in September 2023 that the conditions were met for the man's extradition, a decision confirmed by an appeals court in April 2024.

The suspect then lodged an appeal with Norway's Supreme Court which was rejected in June 2024.

With the man's legal options exhausted, the justice ministry decided in February that the extradition could go ahead, a ruling ultimately confirmed by the government's Council of State.

"The accused is now to be extradited to Rwanda, where he will stand trial for participating in the genocide," police attorney Thea Elise Kjaeraas said in a statement.

Norway has seen a string of extradition requests for genocide suspects in recent years, and is among half a dozen Western countries where courts have handed down convictions since 2009.