MONTREAL - Alleged Rwandan war criminal Leon Mugesera was arrested Saturday afternoon, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency said.
Mugesera was arrested after being released from a Quebec City hospital and was transported to a CBSA-operated holding centre in Laval, Que., just north of Montreal, a senior government official told QMI Agency.
CBSA spokeswoman Esme Bailey said Mugesera will have his detention reviewed by the Immigration and Refugee Board. The first review must be held within 48 hours, she added.
Mugesera, who is accused of helping to incite the 1994 massacre of one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus, was scheduled to be deported on Thursday to Rwanda to face trial for war crimes.
However, an 11th-hour ruling by a Quebec Superior Court judge ordered Canada to temporarily suspend the deportation while the UN committee against torture examined his case.
Mugesera fell ill Wednesday and was hospitalized in Quebec City.
The senior official said that Mugesera, 59, was arrested at the hospital without incident. His spouse, his three children and his lawyer were present at the time of his arrest, the official said.
One of Mugesera's sons, who refused to give his name, told QMI that his father will have a hearing Monday to determine whether the accused war criminal can remain free while he awaits deportation.
Mugesera, 59, claims he could be killed if he's sent back to his native country to face trial. He triggered the UN review after filing a motion Wednesday under the UN Convention against Torture, of which Canada is a signatory.
Canada says it wants to deport him as soon as possible after receiving assurances from Rwanda that he'll be safe in the African country.
Canadian courts and the federal government say he incited hate and murder in a Nov. 22, 1992, speech when he was vice-president of the Hutu MRND party.
He referred to Tutsis as "cockroaches," and called on fellow Hutus to kill Tutsi rivals and dump their bodies into the rivers of Rwanda.
The federal government has been trying to deport Mugesera since 1995.
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