For the first time, a French court has approved the extradition of a suspect to Rwanda to face charges in that country's 1994 genocide.

The court in the city of Rouen ruled that Claude Muhayimana can be sent to Rwanda, where is he accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Muhayimana's lawyer, Geraldine Boitieux, told VOA that she appealed the decision.

“Rwanda authorities accuse him of taking part in genocide and crime against humanity. And obviously he did not do it because he's from a mixed family, half Hutu and half Tutsi.”

Boitieux says Muhayimana could not have been active during the massacres because he was not in the region and he got malaria. She says her client fears an unfair trial if extradited to Rwanda.

“Laws have positively improved in Rwanda but we have concerns regarding a fair trial for Muhayimana with an independent justice. However, my client would accept to be judged by French justice or ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) in Arusha (Tanzania).”

France has previously sent Rwandan citizens to Tanzania to face trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. But it has never extradited anyone to Rwanda, citing concerns whether the suspects will receive a fair trial.

Rwanda has committed to ensuring suspects will be treated fairly and it also abolished the death penalty.

Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates during the 1994 genocide.