[JURIST] Human Rights groups REDRESS and the International Federation for Human Rights [advocacy websites] said Tuesday that the European Union should hold trials for the 37 Rwandan genocide suspects known to be living in European countries. The suspects have been living in Belgium, France, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway, and the rights groups condemned the countries for giving them safe havens [press release, PDF]. At a conference marking the thirteenth anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder; BBC backgrounder], the groups stated that "it is unacceptable that perpetrators continue to live freely in Europe."

Last month, the trial of Desiré Munyaneza [Trial Watch profile; JURIST report], former Rwandan militia commander, began in Canada. In February, Rwanda released 8,000 prisoners [JURIST report] implicated in the genocide in an effort to combat prison overcrowding despite fears of retribution. Reuters has more.