Helsinki - A Rwandan man charged with genocide in the Central African nation went before a Finnish court Tuesday in the first such trial in Finland.

Francois Bazaramba, 58-year-old Hutu, faces a life sentence if convicted over his alleged role in the 1994 events.

Bazaramba denied the charges when the proceedings opened at the district court in Porvoo, east of Helsinki, where he has lived for some years.

The probe has included interviews with almost 100 witnesses, almost all outside Finland, and there were also to be hearings in Rwanda. Bazaramba was to remain in Finland and hear testimony via a video link. The trial is expected to last until next year.

Efforts by his lawyer Ville Hoikkala Tuesday to disqualify the trial judge over remarks made in newspaper interviews failed.

Hoikkala argued that the judge was biased after saying the defendant could have stood trial in Rwanda.

Bazaramba allegedly incited attacks on Tutsis in southern Rwanda.

The 1994 Rwanda genocide is estimated to have claimed the lives of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

In February this year, the Finnish Justice Ministry said it would not extradite him to Rwanda. Rwandan authorities applied for his extradition in April 2008, a year after he was remanded in custody in Finland.

Neighbouring Sweden has ruled that another Rwandan war crimes suspect could be extradited to Rwanda. The defendant, who was arrested in Sweden in July 2008, has appealed that move to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. (dpa)