ICTR asked to assure safety of genocide suspect

Lawyers for Theoneste Bagosora, former directeur de cabinet at the Rwandan Ministry of Defence, who is currently awaiting trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), have made an urgent request to the court for special measures to ensure the safety of genocide suspect Bernard Ntuyahaga. They want the Ntuyahaga, a former Rwandan army officer, to appear as a witness for Bagosora. He is currently being held by the Tanzanian authorities, pending possible extradition to Rwanda. Claiming that Ntuyahaga was in potential danger, the lawyers requested that the ICTR take “all necessary steps” to ensure his safety and security until Bagosora came to trial. The defence team also requested the ICTR to order Tanzania “not to extradite or expel Bernard Ntuyahaga to any country, and especially not to Rwanda” because that would make it “extremely unlikely” that he could testify for Bogosora, the independent Hirondelle news agency reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, Ntuyahaga’s Belgian lawyer, Luc de Temmerman, said he had “sufficient reports and witness statements to prove that he did not participate at all during the Rwandan tragedy”, and that he planned to call several witnesses living in Belgium, including the judge who carried out investigations in Rwanda, for the defence. De Temmerman added that he would do everything in his power to persuade the Tanzanian authorities to reject Rwanda’s extradition request and allow him to testify in Belgium, Hirondelle reported.