FDLR Commander Arrested in Germany

German authorities have arrested Ignace Murwanashyaka, a Rwandan Hutu rebel leader whose group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, is believed to have committed numerous war crimes in Congo and Rwanda. Although there is currently no international arrest warrant for him, the Rwandan government has said that it intends to ask Germany for his extradition. Rwanda’s use of capital punishment obviously complicatest that request, although I’ve noted before that Rwanda is working on amending its laws to prohibit the death penalty for any suspect transferred from the ICTR. Presumably, Rwanda could extend the amendment to include suspects transferred from any country that prohibits capital punishment.

It is also worth noting that Murwanashyaka was living in Germany during the 1994 genocide, so he cannot be held directly liable for the atrocities committed therein. Rwanda admits as much, but insists that he is nevertheless liable for the FDLR’s war crimes. That may be true, but his absence from Rwanda in 1994 certainly complicates prosecuting him on a command-responsibililty theory, which requires proof that he “knew or had reason to know” the crimes were being committed but nevertheless failed to stop them.