MONTREAL – A historic case related to the 1994 Rwandan genocide is playing out in different Canadian courtrooms today. Leon Mugesera, who would become the first Western refugee claimant to be sent back to Rwanda to face charges related to the genocide, has lost a fight in a Quebec courtroom.
Following Mugesera’s last-ditch attempt to stave off deportation, a Quebec Superior Court judge has ruled that the case is beyond the jurisdiction of the provincial court. But whether Mugesera gets to stay in Canada a bit longer, or is sent to his native Rwanda, remains up in the air. Federal lawyers say another attempt at a stay on his deportation has been filed in Federal Court today.
Get daily National news
It’s not clear Canadian officials will wait before executing the order. Mugesera is wanted in Rwanda on charges of inciting genocide and crimes against humanity. A Montreal law firm argued last week that Canada shouldn’t deport him until a United Nations committee examines his claims he will be tortured if in Rwanda.
Lawyer Martin Andre Roy argues that Canada wouldn’t be respecting its international obligations if it deports Mugesera immediately. Two weeks ago, Mugesera was on the verge of being deported after a 16-year fight to stay in Canada when his lawyers appealed to the UN Committee Against Torture.
Mugesera, 59, is accused in Rwanda of inciting genocide and crimes against humanity stemming from an inflammatory anti-Tutsi speech he gave in 1992. The speech is seen as one of the triggers that led to a 100-day massacre of Tutsis and Hutu moderates some two years later. Between 800,000 and one million Rwandans died during a three-month slaughter.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.