Norway has extradited a man suspected of involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, marking another step in global efforts to bring fugitives to justice.
Francois Gasana, 53, was handed over to Rwandan authorities this week following a series of legal proceedings in Oslo. Gasana was detained in Norway in 2022 after Kigali accused him of committing murder during the genocide. An Oslo court ruled in 2023 that the conditions for extradition had been met, a decision later upheld on appeal. His extradition was confirmed in June 2025 by a royal decision of the Norwegian king in council.
Rwanda’s National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) spokesperson, Faustin Nkusi, confirmed Gasana’s return, saying he had previously been convicted and sentenced to 19 years in prison by Nyange Gacaca Court for his role in the genocide. However, under Rwandan law, Gacaca rulings are annulled upon the suspect’s return from abroad, and a fresh trial will be held. Gasana has already secured his own legal representation, though no trial date has been set.
During the genocide, Gasana lived in Rwanda’s Western Province and attended Save Secondary School. The NPPA did not disclose further details about his alleged crimes.
The 1994 genocide claimed the lives of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus over 100 days of orchestrated killings, sparked by the assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana. In its aftermath, Rwanda established community-based “gacaca” courts to speed up justice and allow perpetrators to face victims.
Nkusi commended Norway for its cooperation, praising its role in the extradition of genocide fugitives and its contribution to the fight against impunity. Ahishakiye Naphtal, executive secretary of the genocide survivors’ association Ibuka, also welcomed the extradition, noting that Gasana was “a young man who, due to the genocide ideology he had been fed on, committed such heinous crimes.”
However, Naphtal stressed that many suspects remain at large abroad and urged other nations to follow Norway’s example.
Norway is among a handful of Western countries to have tried and convicted genocide suspects since 2009, and has faced multiple extradition requests from Rwanda in recent years.
Gasana’s return underscores Rwanda’s ongoing pursuit of justice more than three decades after one of the 20th century’s most horrific atrocities.
