In Ohio, a Rwandan-born man, Eric Tabaro Nshimiye, has been apprehended on charges of concealing his role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, according to federal prosecutors.
Accusations against Nshimiye include allegations of actively participating in the mass killings, including direct involvement in hacking individuals to death.
Prosecutors assert that Nshimiye has resided in Ohio since 1995, allegedly securing refugee status in the US through fraudulent means.
While Nshimiye has previously refuted any involvement in the genocide, he is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date to address the charges.
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Michael Krol remarked, “[Mr] Nshimiye is accused of lying to conceal his participation in one of the greatest human tragedies of all time,” adding that the government alleges his testimony in defense of a convicted genocidaire was a calculated effort to obfuscate the grave crimes committed during the genocide.
Eric Tabaro Nshimiye testified in the 2019 trial of Jean Leonard Teganya, who was subsequently convicted as a perpetrator of the Rwandan genocide. However, federal prosecutors now allege that Nshimiye perjured himself during his testimony in an attempt to conceal his own involvement in the genocide.
According to court documents, Nshimiye is accused of actively participating in the brutal killings of ethnic Tutsis during the genocide. Prosecutors assert that he personally engaged in the murders by using nail-studded clubs to strike victims’ heads before hacking them to death with machetes.
Having departed Rwanda in mid-1994, Nshimiye later traveled to Kenya in the following year. It is alleged that he deceived US immigration authorities during his entry into the United States by providing false information about his background.
Nshimiye now faces multiple charges, including falsification of documents, obstruction of justice, and perjury.
David Johnson, a defense attorney representing Nshimiye, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The Rwandan genocide, one of the most horrific episodes in recent history, claimed the lives of approximately 800,000 people in just 100 days in 1994. The perpetrators, known as génocidaires, targeted members of the Tutsi community and their political opponents, regardless of their ethnic background.
