[2] Erlinder specialized in high-profile crimes involving terrorism, the death penalty, civil rights, claims of government and police misconduct, and criminal defense of political activists.
[4][8] The Republic of Rwanda issued a statement[9] claiming that Erlinder "continually engaged in conspiracy theories and denial surrounding the circumstances of the genocide [and] has promulgated this dangerous and distorted fiction over many years."
"[10] As a result of Kayiranga's claim, some media reported that Erlinder's defense of clients accused of genocide included the argument "that the Tutsis were not the primary victims but the instigators and that the massacres were actually part of a civil war.
[19] In the wake of Erlinder's detention, the work at the United Nation's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ground to a halt.
"[21] Other groups, including Advocates for Human Rights and the Society of American Law Teachers, joined in calling for Erlinder's immediate release.
[22][23] U.S. congressional representatives Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison introduced a resolution calling on Rwanda to immediately release Erlinder, pointing out that the U.S. gives Rwanda hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid every year;[24] Senator Amy Klobuchar has also called for Erlinder's release, and has asked Rwandan authorities to grant him an expedited appeal.