Nairobi -- Switzerland said Wednesday it refused a request to transfer a Rwandan national wanted in his own country for alleged genocide and war crimes, a statement said Wednesday.

"An extradition to Rwanda is impossible because of the situation in the state regarding human rights and because the suspicions put forward to support the request for extradition are not sufficiently backed up," said the Swiss government statement.

Sources said the suspect was a Rwandan government minister during the 1994 genocide.

In 2008 the Rwandan ambassador to Switzerland presented the government a formal extradition request.

"The facts in the extradition request are not sufficiently detailed to allow Switzerland to determine if the conditions for extradition are fulfilled," said the statement.

Other European countries have also refused extradition requests arguing that suspects cannot presently receive a fair trial in the country.

According to the United Nations, at least 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, were slaughtered within a few weeks by extremist Hutus in the genocide.

AFP / Expatica