Rwanda​’s par­lia­ment has vot­ed to abol­ish the death penal­ty and replace it with life with­out parole, a move that offi­cials hope will clear the way for sus­pects in the nation’s 1994 geno­cide to be extra­dit­ed back to Rwanda for tri­al. Many of the sus­pects are believed to be at large in Europe, North America, and West Africa, regions where many coun­tries refuse to extra­dite crim­i­nal sus­pects to nations that con­tin­ue to prac­tice cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment or tor­ture. Rwandan geno­cide sur­vivors wel­comed the deci­sion, not­ing that cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment exist­ed in the coun­try’s law pri­or to the vio­lence of 1994 and did not deter the crimes from taking place. 

(The Monitor — Kampala, June 10, 2007). See International Death Penalty. 

Citation Guide