Minn. lawyer, jailed in Rwanda, returning home

Erlinder in Kenya
St. Paul attorney Peter Erlinder gestures during a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Sunday, June 20, 2010, after being given bail following his detention accused of minimizing Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Erlinder arrived in Nairobi late Saturday after being released from Rwanda on bail granted on medical grounds.
Sayyid Azim/ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Minnesota law professor who was jailed in Rwanda is returning home Tuesday.

Peter Erlinder, a professor at the William Mitchell College of Law, is due to arrive at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport around 12:40 p.m.

Erlinder was in Rwanda to help defend an opposition presidential candidate when he was arrested May 28. He was accused of violating Rwandan laws against minimizing the 1994 genocide in which hundreds of thousands of Rwandans, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were massacred by Hutus. He was freed on medical grounds last week.

Erlinder told The Associated Press while passing through Nairobi Sunday he's never denied there was a genocide in Rwanda, but he disputes the conventional story line of what happened.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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