(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
France, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom do not extradite people accused of genocide to Rwanda. The background is a strong suspicion of false accusations and that neither human rights nor legal security will be safeguarded in Rwanda.
"Absurd testimony." Ny Tid has previously mentioned that witnesses against Eugene Nkuranyabahizi say that they were pressed by Rwandan authorities to wrongly accuse him. Now it turns out that a number of other witnesses have also lied and been believed by the Norwegian authorities. Ny Tid has been given access to parts of the investigation material and interrogations by Kripos. These interrogations have been cross-checked against what the same witnesses have said in previous trials, where others from Rwanda have been accused and convicted of genocide. This documents that a number of witnesses have lied, which has not been picked up by either Kripos or Norwegian law.
Defender Brynjulf Risnes in Matrix Advokater says to Ny Tid: "There are obvious errors in the explanations that go into the absurd. One sees a clear pattern in the fact that the testimonies bear the mark of being constructed. Among other things, we see several people reading from notes during the interrogations with Kripos. " He has reviewed trials in the UN and Finland, among other places, which reveal that witnesses have lied to police investigators.
Why? One motivation may be that the authorities in Rwanda have an interest in genocide convictions, as they can take the properties from the convicts and distribute the values. Opposition groups and people disliked by the Rwandan authorities have also been accused of genocide or genocide in the past. They like to preserve their own power by oppressing people in exile and opposition.
The witness, who explained that he was in two different places at the same time, was never confronted with the contradictions, neither by Kripos nor Norwegian law.
In two places at the same time. The first example of a witness who is clearly lying is a Rwandan man who was believed by Norwegian law. He told Kripos that he saw Nkuranyabahizi participating in an attack on civilians in the village of Cyahinda. He told the Norwegian investigators that he was in the village in the period 15-17. April 1994, and that Nkuranyabahizi was a key perpetrator behind violence and attacks. But in the trial that Ny Tid investigated in Finland, the man has said that he fled up to a mountain after the attacks in the village started on 15 April. He also says that he fled to neighboring Burundi on April 16, and stayed there. The witness also told Finnish investigators that a completely different man was central to the attacks and violence in the village, a man who in the trial in Finland was sentenced to life in prison for genocide. Defense lawyer Risnes has this to say about the many contradictory testimonies:
“The pattern goes again, and when we see this in context, we don't get it to vote. So it is with witness after witness. Many points are eventually found for this to be constructed. There have been real incidents of atrocities, but it seems like everyone is putting Eugene in afterwards. ” The witness, who explained that he was in two different places at the same time, was never confronted with the contradictions, neither by Kripos nor Norwegian law.
Read from note during interrogation. Another example is the witness who was believed by Gulating's Court of Appeal. He told Norwegian police that he saw Nkuranyabahizi with a firearm where civilians were being slaughtered at both a church and a school in Cyhinda. This man also has, as Ny Tid finds, explanations given to Norwegian police that are difficult to vote: In 1995, one year after the attacks, he told the UN and the International Criminal Court ICTR that he and several others fled up Mount Nyakizu and hid on the mountainside while the attacks took place at Cyahinda Church 400 meters away. He has told Norwegian police that he was at the church all the time during the attacks, and that he saw Eugene carrying firearms and participating in the attacks. This witness was also not confronted with conflicting explanations given by the UN Court and the Norwegian police, respectively, neither by Kripos nor the court. The investigation documents for Kripos state that the man had with him a piece of paper which he read from during the interrogation. Several other witnesses who have come forward with accusations against Nkuranyabahizi also brought notes in the interrogations with Kripos.
Suddenly knew a lot. When the Court of Appeal held that there was good reason to suspect that Nkuranyabahizi had participated in or facilitated genocide, yet another witness was believed – especially his explanations of Nkuranyabahizi's political involvement. But Ny Tid finds out that the witness has, however, given completely different explanations to the Rwandan and Norwegian police. To the Rwandan police, the man said in 2013 that he had seen Nkuranyabahizi with a group that took part in the genocide on April 14, 1994. In the extradition request, the witness is quoted as saying: “I remember who killed and who was killed. Nkuranyabahizi was always with the mayor [accused of leading the killings, ed. note] that ordered the killing of all the people. " The witness also explained that he saw Nkuranyabahizi helping to set up a roadblock used to sort out fleeing Tutsis who were to be killed.
This is in sharp contrast to what the same man explained in the interrogation of Kripos a year earlier in 2012. Kripos' own report from the interrogation with the man states the following: "The witness knows nothing about what the suspect did in the 1994 genocide. no information that the suspect was involved in the killing during the genocide. " It further states: “The suspect was not among the youths he observed that day {April 14, 1994, ed. note]. »
Nor that this man has explained two directly conflicting stories was picked up by Kripos or Norwegian law.
In moonlight a cloudy night. Another example that was also emphasized by Norwegian law is the explanations of two cousins. Upon closer inspection, they turn out to be impossible to vote. Both say they were together and saw Nkuranyabahizi attend a meeting with the village mayor, where massacres were planned. One of them explains that they saw Nkuranyabahizi arrive at the meeting when they were hiding in a coffee plantation. The other says sitting in a bar. The meeting took place in the evening, where one says that it was possible to see Nkuranyabahizi because it was a full moon. But when New Time looks through a lunar table and meteorological reports from the site, we see that it was cloudy, and that the moon was at its smallest on April 14, 1994. The other explained that they saw Nkuranyabahizi in the dark due to car lights.
"To me it is inconceivable that Kripos and the Norwegian authorities can send me to the abusers in Rwanda"
But several other witnesses say Nkuranyabahizi was never present at the meeting – including a witness who lived in the house where the meeting was held. The cousins continue with conflicting explanations: One of them says that Nkuranyabahizi came driving with this mayor, who at the meeting called for murder, while the other says that he came walking on foot about 20 minutes after the mayor. The mayor's driver, on the other hand – who himself has been convicted of involvement in the genocide – explained that Nkuranyabahizi was neither at the meeting nor had anything to do with the genocide.
On the phone from the prison in Stavanger, Eugene Nkuranyabahizi told Ny Tid: "We see again and again that witnesses who have been believed by Norwegian law and Kripos, have lied about me. I can document and prove it. I had nothing to do with the genocide, and I have a number of witnesses who confirm what I have been saying all along. The new review shows major errors and lack of control questions in Kripos' investigation. Kripos also did not want to cross-check information when I asked them to do so. "
Weakened suspicion. Kripos has gone through the previous false testimony [see Ny Tid august}. They believe that the suspicion against him has weakened because of this, but believe that it is right to extradite Nkuranyabahizi to Rwanda. Kripos believes he has been affiliated with the party MDR, and writes the following in his conclusion:
"After this, it is still considered to be a holistic picture linking the accused to participation in genocide. A central point of departure for the assessment is, in Kripos's view, the scope of witness descriptions that link the accused to the mayor of the municipality and the party MDR / JDR who played a central role in the execution of the genocide in the municipality. It is considered to be clearly probable that the defendant had an active role in the party, which in itself supports participation as described in the indictment. " This Kripos report with a review of the new testimonies came in November.
But while Kripos believes Nkuranyabahizi was a member of the MDR party, there are several witnesses who even joined the party who say he was not. Many witnesses confirm Nkuranyabahizi's explanation that he never had anything to do with the genocide.
Ny Tid offered Kripo's response and interview in this case, but points out that the case is being processed: "The case is still being processed. It is a complex assessment of evidence that forms the basis of the court and the ministry. It is not natural for us now to go into details of the case in the media. "
Since it is the Ministry of Justice that will decide on whether Nkuranyabahizi will be extradited, they have also been offered interviews and answers, and replies by email: “In principle, it is not desirable to comment on individual extradition cases. We cannot therefore comment specifically on this matter. ”
Rwanda with several false charges. A number of people from Rwanda living in Norway have been charged with genocide. Norwegian police have filed 17 such cases because they believe the charges could not be proven or substantiated.
Eugene Nkuranyabahizi is currently in prison in Stavanger, and is scheduled to be extradited to Rwanda in January. He has been in custody for over three and a half years – 1300 days. On the phone from the prison, Nkuranyabahizi told Ny Tid:
“The only thing that has kept me up in all of this is my kids. If I am sent to Rwanda, I will never see my children or my family again. To me, it is inconceivable that Kripos and the Norwegian authorities can send me to the perpetrators of Rwanda. All I ask for is a chance to defend myself in a fair trial – after all, I can prove my innocence. In Rwanda, I will never have that opportunity. ”
Se previous case in New Time.
See also our video interview with Nkuranyabahizi.
https://vimeo.com/179211938
