The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the arrest of Rwandan national Eric Tabaro Nshimiye last week. Nshimiye stands accused of a decades-long scheme to disguise his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide in a bid to acquire asylum and eventually citizenship in the United States.
US authorities claim that Nshimiye took part in the genocide that led to the death of countless Tutsi men, women, and children. Nshimiye is also charged with obstruction of justice and perjury during the 2019 trial of Jean Leonard Teganya, who was convicted for immigration fraud and perjury related to his US asylum application from Rwanda.
Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, commented on Nshimiye’s arrest, accusing him of lying about his participation in the genocide. The alleged concealment of his involvement, according to the government, was a calculated attempt to avoid the consequences of his actions and further distance himself from the genocidal events.
The Rwandan genocide started on April 6, 1994, after a plane carrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down over Kigali. The genocide endured for 100 days, during which approximately 800,000 Tutsi were killed.
Nearly three decades after the genocide, individuals are still being charged and tried internationally. In May 2023, the UN’s International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals reported the arrest of long-time fugitive Fulgence Kayishema in South Africa. In addition, in July 2023, the UN Under-Secretary-General welcomed the life imprisonment verdict that the Paris Assize Court issued to Philippe Hategekimana for his actions during the genocide.
More about this unfolding case can be read here.