Rwandans name suspects

2004-09-10 21:45

Kigali - Rwandans have identified at least 500 000 neighbours as participants in the 1994 genocide in which more than half a million people were slaughtered in 100 days, the chief prosecutor said on Friday.

Jean de Dieu Mucyo said the suspects were named during initial proceedings of community-based courts during which people identified victims of the genocide in their neighbourhoods and named those suspected of involvement in the attacks on minority Tutsis and political moderates from the Hutu majority.

The killings were orchestrated by the extremist Hutu government then in power.

About 80 000 genocide suspects have been detained in this small central African nation, and justice authorities now estimate that at least 500 000 people should stand trial for their role in the slaughter and chaos that came with it, Mucyo.

At least 10% of suspects named in the traditional courts are accused of masterminding and planning the genocide, Mucyo told The Associated Press.

More than 350 000 suspects, or about 70% of those named by neighbours, are accused of murder, Mucyo said.

At least 100 000 people named during proceedings of traditional courts, known as gacaca, are accused of theft and other non-lethal crimes during the chaos that accompanied the genocide, Mucyo said.

Traditional courts

"The figures were drawn up basing on information collected from the first phase of gacaca trial runs," Mucyo said. "We now estimate the figure to be lying between 500 000 and 600 000."

The traditional courts are separate from the conventional judicial system, which is also trying suspects in higher-profile cases that mainly deal with those accused of leading the 100-day genocide.

Rwanda turned to the community courts, called gacaca, in a bid to speed up trials for the 80 000 other people accused of taking part in the government-orchestrated massacre.

Under the community court system, local people are elected and trained to serve on nine-judge panels. The maximum sentence is life in prison.

Some genocide survivors are critical of the community courts, saying they are too lenient and too slow in delivering justice.

- AP