{Two decades after he was charged with genocide and torture, Paris prosecutors said on Wednesday they had asked for the case against a Rwandan priest to be thrown out, potentially souring ties between the two countries.}<\/p>\n
Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka stands accused by authorities in both Rwanda and France of taking part in the Genocide Against Tutsis in April 1994.<\/p>\n
The Catholic priest has lived in France since 1995 after fleeing his country and has refused repeated calls to return to Rwanda, while French authorities have declined to extradite him.<\/p>\n
“From our investigations, it appears the role of Wenceslas Munyeshyaka during the 1994 genocide raised a lot of questions,” Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“But the probe was not able to formally corroborate specific acts pertaining to his active participation” as a perpetrator or an accomplice, he added.<\/p>\n
It is now up to magistrates to decide whether to bring the case to court or not.<\/p>\n
Munyeshyaka was charged by a French judge in July 1995 with genocide, torture, mistreatment and inhuman and degrading acts.<\/p>\n
He is accused of having turned over Tutsis sheltering in his Saint-Famille church — where hundreds had sought shelter — to Hutu militiamen surrounding the building.<\/p>\n
In 2006, a Rwandan Military court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison for rape and helping extremist militias.<\/p>\n
Judges ruled that Munyeshyaka had on several occasions raided church halls where Tutsis were hiding to pick out young girls and women who were raped in nearby buildings.<\/p>\n
But Munyeshyaka, who is now a priest in the northern French town of Gisors, denies all the charges.<\/p>\n
He says he is the victim of a political set up and always did his best to help civilians.<\/p>\n
If his case is dropped, it could further strain ties between France and Rwanda.<\/p>\n
Rwanda has frequently accused Paris of complicity in the genocide Against Tutsi, accusations which France has always rejected.<\/p>\n
Dozens of legal proceedings have been launched in France against Rwandans suspected of contributing to the genocide.<\/p>\n
In the first trial of its kind in the country, genocide suspect Pascal Simbikangwa was last year convicted and sentenced to 25 years in jail.<\/p>\n
{{Agencies}}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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