Finnish resident tied to Rwandan genocide

PORVOO, Finland, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- National Bureau of Investigation officials allege a Rwandan-born resident of the city of Porvoo, Finland, took part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

The Helsingen Sanomat said Thursday that investigators claim the unidentified suspect planned and implemented the slaughter of up to 25,000 people in the south Rwandan municipality of Nyakizu.

The suspect was arrested in April 2007 in relation to the genocidal acts but has maintained his innocence in the matter.

"The police have heard various assessments on how many deaths he might have been involved in. The estimates vary from several thousand to as many as 25,000," NBI official Thomas Elfgren told Helsingen Sanomat.

The NBI investigation into the 100-day genocide at the hands of extremist Hutu tribesmen is being aided by Rwandan authorities, the Helsingen Sanomat said. The lengthy genocide is said to have resulted in the deaths of more than 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus.

The Finnish newspaper said the suspect was once a Rwandan Baptist Church official who may have had ties to former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana.