A Kent-based Rwandan pastor facing extradition over genocide charges is the victim of a sinister plot that could end in his death, according to his family.

Dr Celestin Mutabaruka, 57, is languishing in Belmarsh Prison, one of the country's most secure penal institutions.

Still in his nightclothes, he was awoken by Metropolitan Police officers at his home in Hurst Road, Ashford, in the early hours and arrested.

Following a preliminary hearing at Woolwich Crown Court, he is now housed among some of the most dangerous men in the UK.

He stands accused by the Rwandan government of taking part in the country's 1994 massacre, in which 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in 100 days by the Hutu-led government and ethnic militias.

But against a backdrop of historical tribal divisions, score settling, and guilt-by-association, his family say they refute all of the charges - and categorically state he is an innocent man.

They claim it is Dr Mutabaruka's actions as an outspoken critic of both sides of that conflict - and his continued criticism of the country's current government - that has made him a target.

What will happen next is largely down to the British government, but the family fears his return to Rwanda - saying a fair trial would be impossible and his assassination very likely.

In either case, they expect a protracted legal battle.

His wife Dr Rose Mutabaruka, 55, is a pentecostal minister who preaches alongside her husband at Ashford's Fountain Church, which the pair established shortly after their arrival in the town in 2000.

The mother-of-five said of her husband of almost 30 years: "What happened to Celestin is completely unjust. It is torturing in the mind.

"I have known Celestin to be a man of integrity. He is such a lovely husband, a man of God.

"His arrest happened while I was in Tanzania, and I came back to find that my husband is gone and my children are crying.

"Celestin started a political party founded by Christians to speak peace and to help people to escape the tribalism. I think that is what made him a target.

"Rwanda does not really practice democracy, and many of the people who say things, once they say things, they are followed, they are killed.

"We feel this is not fair, and we call upon the government in this country to look at the truth and help Celestin to his freedom."

Allegations made by the Rwandan government have followed Dr Mutabaruka since he and his family fled the country in 1994 following, it is claimed, multiple attempts on his life.

A number of legal proceedings have also been instigated previously but none have been successful, say the family.

For a full interview with Dr Mutabaruka's family, see this week's Kentish Express - out today.