Rwandan Genocide Suspect Deported to Face Trial

Jean Léonard Teganya arrived in Rwanda on November 9 after being deported from the United States. He faces charges related to the 1994 genocide, Justin Nkusi, a prosecution spokesperson, said. Police are questioning Teganya before prosecutors receive his case file.

Rwandan authorities indicted Teganya in 2014 over alleged crimes in several parts of Huye district in southern Rwanda. They say some of the alleged crimes occurred at a university site and a school for medical training. Teganya denied involvement in the 1994 killings, which claimed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus at the hands of extremist Hutus.

Teganya departed Rwanda in July 1994 before applying for asylum in Canada. The U.S. Justice Department said he avoided a Canadian deportation order and entered the United States in 2014. In 2019, a Boston federal jury convicted him of immigration fraud and perjury connected to his U.S. asylum application.

Yolande Mukakasana, a genocide survivor, welcomed his return to Rwanda to face justice. She said survivors remained hopeful that justice would be done despite the time that had passed. Teganya is expected to stand trial in Rwanda.