UN genocide court criticised
2008-05-31 08:39
Arthur Asiimwe
Kigali - Rwanda's top prosecutor expressed disappointment on Friday over a UN court decision that blocked the first transfer of a suspected genocide leader from an international tribunal to Rwanda's justice system for trial.
Scrambling to finish 28 trials and begin another seven, prosecutors with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) requested that the trial of suspected genocide leader Yussuf Munyakazi's be transferred to Rwanda.
But ICTR judges turned down the request saying Rwanda did not have the tools to guarantee a fair trial, although the country abolished its death penalty and built a modern detention centre and trial chamber in readiness for transfers.
"It's a regrettable and disappointing decision," Martin Ngoga, Rwanda's prosecutor general, told reporters. "Rwanda has a functioning and independent legal system that guarantees a fair hearing for anyone."
The ICTR has until the end of 2008 to wind up all trials - unless the UN extends its mandate - and all appeals should be determined by 2010.
The transfers were seen as a strategy to offload outstanding cases so the tribunal could meet its deadline.
The Tanzania-based court has convicted 27 people seen as the brains behind the 1994 genocide that killed 800 000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days of slaughter.
Munyakazi, a prominent businessman and farmer, is accused of complicity in the genocide and crimes against humanity committed on Tutsis in Rwanda's former Cyangugu and Kibuye provinces.
- Reuters