Genocide suspect transferred to tribunal

Rwandan genocide suspect Joseph Serugendo, who was arrested last week in Libreville, Gabon, was transferred on Friday to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, an official of the tribunal said. Tribunal Prosecutor Hassan Jallow said Serugendo would shortly make an initial appearance before the tribunal. He faces five counts of conspiracy to commit genocide and persecution, as crime against humanity. Serugendo, 52, was the technical director and board member of Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines, a station that broadcast hate messages before and during the genocide. Jallow said Serugendo was also a member of the National Committee of the "Interahamwe" militia, said to have been largely responsible for most of the killings. Gabon security agents arrested Serugendo, acting on a warrant that Jallow had issued. His arrest brings to 71 the number of accused people arrested by the tribunal. Established by the UN Security Council in November 1994, the tribunal has already rendered 25 judgments, including three acquittals. Some 937,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed in the April-July 1994 genocide, according to Rwandan government figures.