2 Rwanda suspects 'in Europe'
2007-06-18 23:52
Nairobi - The chief prosecutor of the Rwanda genocide court has requested that the cases of two fugitives indicted by the tribunal be transferred to European countries, where they are believed to be hiding, officials said on Monday.
The cases of Wenceslas Munyeshyaka and Laurent Bucyibaruta had been sealed by the court until late last week to ensure efforts at finding the men were not scuppered.
"The prosecutor has discussed the transfer with the European countries and has submitted a request to the trial chambers. It is in the hands of the judges to decide," said Tim Gallimore, spokesperson for the prosecutor, on a visit to the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is still searching for 18 fugitives indicted by the court, but as it must complete all trials by the end of 2008, it has begun the process of transferring some cases to other countries.
It was not immediately clear which European countries would try the two fugitives, but both men are believed to be in France, which Rwanda has accused of harbouring genocide suspects at large.
Bucyibaruta, the former prefect of Gikongoro region, was said to be staunchly loyal to the Hutu-led government that carried out the killings of about 800 000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Munyeshyaka, a Catholic priest, was in 2006 sentenced in absentia to life in prison by a Rwandan military court on the grounds that he aided militias in killing hundreds of Tutsi refugees in his Holy Family Cathedral in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.
Finding national courts
The indictments on the two cases have not been made public and thus the charges against them by the ICTR are not known.
So far one case has been approved to be handed over to Rwanda and the tribunal is set to refer up to 17 to the central African country, which may include 12 fugitives and three accused persons in the ICTR's custody.
Among the fugitives is Felicien Kabuga, who is accused of being the bankroller of the 1994 genocide.
Chief Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow and the tribunal's president, Dennis Byron, are set to brief the UN Security Council on Monday on the completion strategy, which includes finding national courts to try any remaining accused once the court's mandate ends in 2008.
The ICTR, created in 1994 to try high-profile genocide suspects, has tried 33 people, convicting 28 and acquitting five in what has cost the international community $1bn to operate.
- Sapa-dpa
- SAPA