BOSTON (CBS) — A Rwandan man who fled his country after the 1994 genocide was in court Friday afternoon. Jean Leonard Teganya, 46, is charged with one count of immigrationfraud and one count of perjury for allegedly lying on his asylum application.
He was also ordered to be held until August 9. If he is convicted of the charges, he could spend up to 15 years in prison.
Jean Leonard Teganya. (Photo credit: Canadian Border Services Agency)
Court documents say that before and during the genocide, Teganya was a medical student at Butare Hospital in Butare, Rwanda. The documents also allege that Teganya, a Hutu, took part in the violence against the Tutsis.
He fled from Rwanda in mid July 1994 and went to Canada, where he tried to win refugee status. Canadian authorities denied his application because of allegations that Teganya had participated in the genocide and was a supporter of the Rwandan government
The Canadian government issued a deportation order and Teganya crossed the border into the United States to avoid deportation.
He was arrested in August 2014 in Maine and applied for asylum in the U.S.
He is represented by immigration attorney Robin Nice and defense attorney Scott Lower.
Source: http://boston.cbslocal.com/
