Accused Rwandan war criminal fights deportation
The lawyer for a Rwandan man facing imminent deportation to his native country to face charges of inciting genocide has made a last-ditch legal plea to keep him on Canadian soil.
Léon Mugesera has fought for nearly 16 years to remain in the country — a fight that took the Rwandan academic all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
It could all come to an end on Thursday when the alleged war criminal is scheduled to be kicked out, six years after the country’s highest court upheld an order to expel him.
The Quebec City man is accused of helping to incite Rwanda’s genocide by delivering a 1992 speech that promoted the killing of ethnic Tutsis.
A warrant was issued for his arrest but he fled to Canada and quickly gained permanent resident status, subsequently revoked.
Months after he’d left, Hutu-backed militias led the 100-day massacre of Tutsis and Hutu moderates in 1994, killing between 800,000 and one million Rwandans.
Lawyer says Mugesera’s safety under threat in Rwanda
Mugesera smiled and hugged supporters as he entered the Federal Court in Montreal on Monday.
He has lived in Quebec since 1993 and had a hearing room packed with supporters who agree that his life is in danger if he is returned to Rwanda.
Lawyer Johanne Doyon argued on Mugesera’s behalf, seeking a judicial review and a delay of Thursday’s scheduled expulsion.