Tanzania to extradite genocide suspect to Rwanda, not Belgium

Former Rwandan army officer Bernard Ntuyahaga will "in all probability" be handed over to Rwanda to face genocide charges after the Tanzanian authorities initiated extradition proceedings on Monday, Tanzanian radio reported. All that remained was confirmation of the decision by the chief justice, according to a statement by the director of public prosecutions, Jackson Mlei. He did not indicate when that might occur. Ntuyahaga is also wanted by Belgium to face murder charges for allegedly ordering the shooting of 10 Belgian UN peacekeepers as they guarded then Rwandan prime minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, at the start of the 1994 genocide. She was also murdered. Justice officials in Dar es Salaam said on Monday that a Belgian extradition request was rejected because Tanzanian law did not provide for extradition to a country other than that in which the crimes were committed, Hirondelle news agency reported. A Belgian justice ministry spokesman said his country regretted what he called a "political decision" which "should not be justified on weak legal grounds". Peter Gijsels told Hirondelle that genocide and crimes against humanity were considered to be "universal" and therefore "beyond the legal restrictions of territoriality", but said Belgium would cooperate with Rwanda if the extradition there proceeded. The prosecution at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda dropped charges against Ntuyahaga in March with a view to having him handed over for trial in Belgium. He was rearrested by Tanzanian police shortly after his release.