French court backs extradition of Rwanda genocide suspects

A French appeals court on Wednesday approved the extradition of two Rwandans wanted by Kigali for their alleged role in the 1994 genocide that claimed some 800,000 lives. The ruling on Claude Muhayimana, 52, a French citizen since 2010, and Innocent Musabyimana, 41, is not final and can still be challenged. Although many countries such as Canada and Norway have extradited genocide suspects, France has so far refused to do so, fearing they would be denied a fair trial. But it has sent some to Tanzania to face trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The case will now go up to a higher court for a final ruling after the two men's lawyer Philippe Meilhac signaled his intention to appeal. If the extradition is approved, France would still have to sign an extradition treaty with Rwanda for the two men to be sent back. The head of the appeals court Jean Bertholin told the two men their "lives will not be in danger if you return to your country and you will be guaranteed a fair trial." Muhayimana is accused of taking part in the massacre of ethnic Tutsis in the western town of Kibuye and Musabyimana in the north-western Gisenyi province near the Congolese border. Both men have already appeared in front of appeals courts in Dijon and Rouen which ordered their extradition. The rulings were quashed by the Court of Cassation -- France's highest appeals court which rules only on points of law -- which sent them on to the Paris appeals court. French prosecutors said that while the two men could not be extradited on a number of the crimes attributed to them, they could be for those of genocide and crimes against humanity. Genocide is punishable under a June 19, 1994 law passed in Rwanda. The killings there began in April that year. Before the genocide, France had been one of Rwanda's main backers. But in its aftermath, relations between the two countries collapsed. President Paul Kagame, a rebel leader whose government came to power after the massacre, accused Paris of training and arming the Hutu militia -- an accusation strenuously denied by France. Diplomatic ties between Paris and Kigali were severed in 2006 when a French judge said Kagame and others had orchestrated the assassination of former president Juvenal Habyarimana to trigger the bloodshed - an accusation he denies and which French justice has since dropped. But both trade and diplomatic relations have recently strengthened and France is now considering extradition of genocide suspects.