A US federal jury in Boston, Massachusetts, has found Rwandan-born Eric Tabaro Nshimiye guilty of lying about his role in the 1994 genocide. The verdict came on Tuesday. He was convicted of four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Nshimiye, 54, lives in Ohio. He is also known as Nshimiyimana.
The charges relate to testimony he gave in 2019 at the trial of Jean Leonard Teganya, The Eastleigh Voice reported. Teganya was convicted in April 2019 of two counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury. Prosecutors had accused him of hiding his part in the genocide while seeking asylum in the US. Nshimiye testified for the defence at that trial. He denied that either man took part in the genocide. He also denied that either belonged to the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND), the Hutu-dominated ruling party linked to the killings.
Nshimiye fled Rwanda for Kenya in 1994, The Eastleigh Voice reported. He entered the US as a refugee in 1995. The Justice Department said he got in by "failing to disclose his violent participation in the Rwandan genocide to immigration authorities." US officials said he went on to obtain permanent residence and citizenship.
Evidence at his trial linked him to attacks on Tutsi men and women in the early 1990s, The Eastleigh Voice reported. At the time, he was a medical student at the University of Rwanda in Butare. Prosecutors said he took part in attacks in which victims were struck on the head with clubs. Witnesses said he took part in roadblocks where Tutsis were separated from Hutus and targeted for killing. One witness, who was 17 at the time, told the court he saw Nshimiye club to death a tailor who worked at the university hospital. Other witnesses described him as an active MRND member.
US Attorney Leah B. Foley said Nshimiye "lived under a web of lies and deception." She said he obtained refuge in the US by lying about his part in the genocide and his acts against the Tutsi community. "This verdict ensures he can no longer hide behind his lies," Foley said.
Sentencing is set for January 26, 2027. Each perjury count carries a maximum of five years in prison. The obstruction of justice count carries up to 10 years.