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Genocide suspect dies

[Tanzania] Arusha: ICTR Building Northern Tanzania IRIN
The tribunal's building in Arusha, northern Tanzania.
    NAIROBI

    Bishop Samuel Musabyimana, a genocide suspect who was awaiting trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, died on Friday.

    The tribunal announced that Musabyimana died at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi "after a long illness". He is a former Anglican bishop of the diocese of Shyogwe in Rwanda. He becomes the first accused person to die in ICTR detention.

    Musabyimana, 47, was arrested in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 26 April 2001. He appeared before the UN court on 2 May 2001 and pleaded not guilty to four counts, including genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity.

    The ICTR said Musabyimana's close family members were with him during his illness.

    The UN Security Council established the ICTR in 1995 to try the alleged perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which claimed some 800,000 lives. Since its inception, the court has handed down nine judgments - eight convictions and an acquittal.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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