Hutu leader opposes deportation
2006-04-10 18:09
Mannheim - The leader of a Rwandan Hutu rebel army, which has conducted a reign of terror in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has appealed against German authorities trying to deport him.
Ignace Murwanashyaka, accused by the United Nations security council of fuelling a civil war, was detained in the German city of Mannheim last week.
On Friday, a German judge ordered Murwanashyaka, 42, detained for three months preparatory to deportation.
However, on Monday, German federal prosecutors said they were considering an alternative - putting Murwanashyaka on trial in Germany under international criminal law.
Murwanashyaka is president of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda FDLR, an ethnic Hutu movement whose armed units are accused of continuing massacres in the Kivu region of the DRC.
In December, the UN slapped a travel ban on him, requiring UN member states to seize his assets and deny him entry or transit.
Murwanashyaka's lawyer has filed an appeal against Friday's remand order.
A spokesperson for the German court reviewing the case said the country's law required a decision without delay, but there was no set number of days for this.
Murwanashyaka is being held in a prison in Mannheim.
On Saturday, the UN Mission in the DRC said it would assist the Congolese government in efforts to obtain the rebel leader's extradition to face serious charges in the country.
- SAPA