Both prosecution and defence appeal ICTR judgements

The prosecution in the cases of Clement Kayishema and Obed Ruzindana has appealed against the Trial Chamber’s 21 May finding that the pair was not guilty of charges of crimes against humanity, according to a statement from the Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), received by IRIN on Tuesday. In the appeal, the prosecutors argue that the judge’s erred when they contended that the same facts could not be used to hold the pair responsible for both genocide and crimes against humanity. The defence counsel has also appealed the judgements and sentences imposed on the two men, the statement said. Semanza indictment amended to include rape charges Meanwhile, the prosecution in the case of genocide suspect Laurent Semanza, former mayor of Bicumbi, has been granted leave by trial judges to amend the indictment against him to include seven extra charges, including rape, under crimes against humanity. Semanza thus became the fourth person to be charged with rape at the Arusha trials, an ICTR statement said. Semanza is scheduled to enter a plea to the amended charges on Thursday, with his trial expected to start in late August. Former journalist “to seek forgiveness from the people” Valerie Bemeriki, a former journalist with Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) who was arrested last week on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, has admitted to some of the charges and said she was “sincerely prepared to seek forgiveness from the people of Rwanda,” news agencies reported. Bemeriki, arrested for her alleged role in inciting the 1994 genocide, told Radio Rwanda: “I must admit to the sins I committed and not to the ones I did not commit.” The prosecutor of the Kigali tribunal has indicated that charges will soon be brought against Bemeriki and a former RTLM colleague, Noel Hitimana, RNA news agency reported.