Bizimungu trial begins

Former Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu appeared before the Rwandan Court of First Instance on Thursday at the beginning of his trial, nearly one and a half years since his arrest on treason-related charges.

Bizimungu and his co-defendant, former Public Works Minister Charles Ntakirutinka, denied the charges of threatening national security by inciting civil disobedience, attempting to form a militia group and being in illegal possession of firearms.

However, the trial was postponed to 20 April because the presiding judge was absent.

Previous attempts to start the trial failed when Bizimungu filed two appeals in the Supreme Court: one seeking bail and the other seeking the dismissal of the case.

Attorney General Emmanuel Rukangira said Bizimungu also faced the charge of diverting to his local bank account some US $100,000 given to the Rwandan government by the Organisation of African Unity, now known as the African Union.

"Bizimungu has been adamantly derailing the commencement of the trial by raising unsubstantiated issues on rules of procedure," Rukangira told IRIN.

However, Bizimungu said during Thursday's proceedings, "These are politically motivated charges of which we plead innocent."

He had earlier accused the prosecution of altering the original charges against him and introducing fresh ones when their trial was to begin. He had also said that the government confiscated $10,000 from him during arrest.

Rukangira said if found guilty, Bizimungu could face up to 20 years in prison.