Defence asks judges to withdraw from case

The defence counsel for genocide suspect Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza has called on two judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to withdraw from the case, following their recent visit to Rwanda. The independent Hirondelle news agency quoted the counsel as demanding that ICTR President Navanethem Pillay and Vice-President Eric Mose disqualify themselves from hearing the case. The two, with other three ICTR judges, visited Rwanda at the end of August, on an itinerary which included visits to two massacre sites and meetings with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the country’s Attorney-General Gerald Gahima. “With respect, we urge you to excuse yourself from hearing Mr Barayagwiza’s case pursuant to Rule 15 of the Rule of Procedure and Evidence,” the defence said.

“Meetings with messrs Kagame and Gahima in a non-judicial setting, when the very conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity which are alleged against our client are the reason for the meeting, are highly inappropriate,” the counsel argued. “The appearance of impropriety is exacerbated by the fact that it comes three weeks after the scheduled start of this trial.” Article 15 of the ICTR Rules of Procedure and Evidence, requires judges to withdraw from a case if they have a personal interest in it, or have been in a situation which could compromise their impartiality. Barayagwiza is a former politician and founder of the Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) and the anti-Tutsi publication “Kangura”. He is about to be tried alongside two other suspects linked to the “hate-media” which allegedly incited the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The trial is slated for 18 September.