Prosecutor asks appeals court to confirm sentence

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Carla Del Ponte, on Wednesday told the Appeals Court sitting in Arusha, Tanzania that former Rwandan prime minister Jean Kambanda “had twice pleaded guilty” and that his life sentence for genocide should be confirmed. “I was wondering whether Kambanda should have had the opportunity for the trial,” the independent Hirondelle news agency quoted Del Ponte as saying. “But yesterday’s [Tuesday] hearing swept all my doubts away,” she said. “Kambanda pleaded guilty a second time, he admitted his political responsibility in the genocide,” Del Ponte noted. “He confirmed the statements he made to the prosecution...and it is those declarations which form the basis of his indictment.”

Kambanda told the court on Tuesday he felt he was “forced” to sign his guilty plea agreement with the prosecution. He further said he had been denied the lawyer of his choice and that all his avenues of recourse had been exhausted. Kambanda was sentenced to life imprisonment on 4 September 1998 after pleading guilty to all charges, including genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide.

Meanwhile, the eighth plenary session of the Appeals Court on Monday adopted a number of proposed amendments on the regulations and operations of the ICTR. News organisations quoted Tribunal spokesman Kingsley Moghalu as saying the most important amendment was related to speeding up the trials. “This will reduce delays and postponements of trials,” he said.