• Rwandan Karenzi Karake, 54, was detained at Heathrow Airport in June
• Spy chief was accused of ordering massacres in wake of 1994 genocide
• Karake is also accused of the murder of three Spanish medical workers
• Cherie Blair spearheaded the Karake’s battle against extradition to Spain
• The spy chief would have faced war crimes charges in the country

By JOHN HALL FOR MAILONLINE

Freed: Karenzi Karake after he was arrested at Heathrow in June over alleged reprisal killings following the country’s brutal 1994 genocide

A British court has freed Rwanda’s intelligence chief Karenzi Karake after he was arrested in June over alleged reprisal killings following the country’s brutal 1994 genocide, officials said today.

The 54-year-old was detained on a warrant issued in Spain where he was wanted in connection with the killings, but Rwanda condemned his arrest as an outrage.

Karake was part of the Rwandan Patriotic Front - the then-rebel force that eventually managed to halt the genocide and now runs the country.

To his supporters, Karake is a hero who played a key role in helping to stop the slaughter of a further 800,000 people, mostly members of the minority Tutsis ethnic group.

Officials did not immediately provide further details on Karake’s but a fuller statement from Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service is expected shortly.

The Spanish warrant stemmed from a lengthy indictment issued by a judge in 2008 which accused 40 senior Rwandans, including Karake, of war crimes in the aftermath of the genocide.

Karake was also accused of ordering the killing of three Spanish volunteers from a medical charity in 1997.

Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in a tweet she was delighted Karake would be coming home, adding: ‘This was an unnecessary and abusive process.’