Teen inmate charged in Rwandan's prison beating

A 17-year-old man has been charged in the prison beating of Rwandan war crimes suspect Dsir Munyaneza.

The teenager appeared in a Montreal youth court Friday morning where he was charged with armed assault and assault causing injury.

Munyaneza was violently attacked and beaten in his prison cell at the Rivires-des-Prairies detention centre in eastern Montreal April 11.

His injuries, which included a broken nose, facial lacerations and head trauma, were significant enough to postpone his genocide trial for a week.

The teenage suspect was an inmatein the same jail, where he was serving a 30-month sentence for armed robbery, a crime for which he was sentenced as an adult.

He was transferred to Munyaneza's semi-private wing April 11, the night of the attack.

Prison vows to protect Munyaneza

Following the attack, the detention centre agreed to implement "extraordinary measures" to protect Munyaneza.

Prison director Yves Sainte-Marie promised Munyaneza would not have any more contact with other prisoners and will be isolated in his cell, in court and in transit.

His family will be allowed to visit.

Munyaneza, 40, faces seven charges under Canada's war crimes law, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

He's accused of co-ordinating and taking part in rapes and murders of Tutsis in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.

Munyaneza arrived in Toronto in 1997 seeking refugee status but his claim was rejected and he becamethe target of an RCMP investigation.

He was arrested in October 2005. Munyaneza is thefirst person to be tried under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, passed in 2000.