A man of Rwandan origin, Eric Tabaro Nshimiye, has been arrested in Ohio for allegedly concealing his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Federal prosecutors claim that he hid his participation in the mass killings, including personally carrying out violent acts such as hacking people to death.
Nshimiye has been residing in Ohio since 1995, reportedly obtaining refugee status in the US through fraudulent means.
Despite previous denials of involvement in the genocide, he is now facing charges related to lying about his role in the atrocities.
According to Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Michael Krol, Nshimiye is accused of deliberately hiding his actions during one of history’s worst human tragedies.
He allegedly provided false testimony in defense of a convicted genocide perpetrator, Jean Leonard Teganya, in 2019.
Prosecutors assert that Nshimiye lied under oath to cover up his own participation in the genocide, which involved brutal methods like using nail-studded clubs and machetes to kill ethnic Tutsis.
Nshimiye left Rwanda in mid-1994 and later traveled to Kenya before eventually entering the US.
Prosecutors claim that he lied to immigration officials during this process.
The charges against him include falsifying information, obstructing justice, and committing perjury.
David Johnson, Nshimiye’s defense attorney, has not yet commented on the case.
The Rwandan genocide remains one of the darkest chapters in modern history, with around 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis and political opponents, being killed by extremist Hutus in just 100 days.
Source-BBC
