A federal jury convicted Eric Tabaro Nshimiye, also known as Eric Tabaro Nshimiyimana, 54, yesterday on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice related to his concealment of material information concerning his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Specifically, the jury convicted Nshimiye of lying to a federal jury during the 2019 trial in Boston of convicted Rwandan genocide perpetrator, Jean Leonard Teganya.
Nshimiye fled Rwanda in the summer of 1994 and made his way to Kenya. In 1995, he gained admission to the United States as a refugee by failing to disclose his violent participation in the Rwandan genocide to immigration authorities. In subsequent years, Nshimiye continued to provide false information about his involvement in the Rwandan genocide to obtain lawful permanent residence and ultimately U.S. citizenship. Nshimiye has lived and worked in Ohio since 1995.
“For nearly three decades, this defendant concealed his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the heinous acts of violence he committed, including clubbing people to death,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Then, he lied to immigration officials in order to become a U.S. citizen, and he lied to a federal jury to protect himself and a fellow perpetrator of the Rwandan genocide. Now, he will face the consequences of his crimes thanks to the courage of the survivors in this case and the diligence of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners who have ensured that Nshimiye will not be able to escape his past.”
“Eric Tabaro Nshimiye lived under a web of lies and deception,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “He obtained refuge in this country by lying to immigration officials about his involvement in the Rwandan genocide and the appalling acts he committed on the Tutsi community. The United States protects victims not violent criminals. This verdict ensures Nshimiye can no longer hide behind his lies.”
“Eric Nshimiye is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, masquerading as a refugee here in the United States in an affront to the thousands of Rwandans terrorized and displaced by the genocide he violently participated in,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Grimming of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England. “For decades, he lived the American dream by building a life based on the continuation of lies. Now, a federal jury has brought his deceptions to an end. This verdict belongs to the victims who bravely shared their stories, traveling across the world to relive the most horrifying moments of their lives and bring Nshimiye to justice. We are deeply grateful for their contribution and their sacrifice.”
According to the evidence presented at trial, while he was a medical student at the University of Rwanda in Butare, Rwanda, in the early 1990s, Nshimiye participated in attacking Tutsi men and women, including by striking them on the head with a club. At that time, the country was significantly divided ethnically with about 90% of its population being Hutus and about 9% being Tutsis. In the spring of 1994, after the Hutu president’s plane was shot down over Kigali, the country spiraled into one of the worst ethnic genocides in modern history. Members of the Hutu majority and those affiliated with them murdered approximately 800,000 Tutsis, including women and children, in a span of approximately 100-days. According to the evidence, both Nshimiye and Teganya were well-known student members of the ruling Hutu-dominated party, the MRND (Mouvement révolutionnaire national pour le développement), which played a critical role in the genocide.
Victims during the trial testified that Nshimiye directly participated in the genocide. One victim who was a 17-year-old boy at the time witnessed Nshimiye club to death a tailor who worked at the university hospital. Other witnesses recounted how Nshimiye had participated in roadblocks, separating out Tutsis from Hutus to be killed. Numerous witnesses testified that Nshimiye was a member of the MRND, frequently attended political rallies, and dressed in the distinctive garb worn by such members.
In 2017, the United States charged Teganya with fraudulently seeking asylum in the United States by similarly concealing his membership in the MRND and his involvement in the genocide. When called to testify at trial on Teganya’s behalf in 2019, Nshimiye said that neither he nor Teganya participated in the genocide, nor were they members of the MRND. Teganya was ultimately convicted of two counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury in April 2019 . The lies Nshimiye told to a federal jury during that trial are the basis for his conviction for perjury and obstructing justice.
Nshimiye faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the four perjury counts and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for one count of obstruction of justice. He will be sentenced on Jan. 26, 2027. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
HSI Boston investigated this matter with the assistance of HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC). Established in 2009, the HRVWCC furthers the government’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, female genital mutilation, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers.
Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Looney prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided critical assistance.