Stockholm - Sweden will halt the planned extradition of an alleged Rwandan war criminal to the East African country on the request from the European Court of Human Rights, Justice Minister Beatrice Ask said Thursday. The Swedish government last said it planned to extradite Sylvere Ahorugeze who is suspected of crimes against humanity during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and of involvement in the murder of around 25 people.
But following the government decision, his lawyer Hans Bredberg appealed to the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, arguing that his client would not receive a fair trial in Rwanda.
The court on Wednesday said it wanted to look into the case.
Ask, speaking on the sidelines of an informal meeting of European justice ministers, said she had expected the move and that the Swedish government was satisfied with its assessment of the case.
The government has said it considered several factors and noted that the Supreme Court in May said that although there were shortcomings in Rwanda's legal system, there were no legal obstacles preventing Ahorugeze's return.
The 53-year-old suspect claims witness statements were part of a plot against him and that he would not be granted a fair trial in Rwanda. He has also cited ill-health.
Ahorugeze who had been living in neighbouring Denmark for several years, was arrested in Sweden when he accompanied his wife on a visit to the Rwandan embassy.
Danish authorities had held him on suspicion of war crimes, but he was subsequently released and awarded damages when a special prosecutor dropped the case.
An estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutu militia and civilians in the Rwandan genocide that began in early April 1994 and lasted approximately 100 days.
