Arrest of Rwanda Intelligence Chief
June 23, 2015
(London) – Human Rights Watch is monitoring the case of Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, head of the Rwandan intelligence services, who was arrested in London on June 20, 2015, on a European arrest warrant following a request issued by a Spanish judge.
In the event that Karenzi Karake is extradited to Spain, where a Spanish court has indicted him and 39 other senior Rwandan officials for serious crimes committed in violation of international law, the Spanish authorities should ensure that due process is followed and that he receives a fair trial.
“There has been significant progress in ensuring justice for the victims of the genocide in Rwanda,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But thousands of victims and their relatives are still waiting for justice for crimes committed by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front since 1994.”
Karenzi Karake has been a key senior military and intelligence official in Rwanda for the last 20 years. Victims and witnesses of human rights violations have often cited his name in connection with serious crimes going back to the 1990s. In the Spanish indictment he is accused, among other things, of involvement in the 1997 murder of three Spanish aid workers.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/06/23/arrest-rwanda-intelligence-chief