Burundi massacre trial begins

2008-10-14 22:11

Bujumbura - The trial of those suspected of carrying out the 2006 massacre of 31 civilians in Burundi began on Tuesday, but the alleged mastermind of the killings was absent from proceedings.

"Twenty-four soldiers are charged, but the trial is being held in the absence of the main suspect, colonel Vital Bangirinama, who fled the country," army spokesperson Adolphe Manirakiza told AFP.

The trial opened in the military camp of Mukoni, east of Bujumbura, where the victims - who had been accused of collaborating with the rebel National Liberation Forces (FNL) - were detained and killed in July 2006.

The military court in June said it could not try the suspects because two of them had since quit the army, but that decision was then overturned by Burundi's Supreme Court.

"We hope that this time the trial will go all the way," defence lawyer Deo Ndikumana told AFP by telephone.

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has been accused by human rights groups of seeking to block Bangirinama's arrest for undisclosed security reasons.

"This trial is a farce. We cannot expect a fair trial when there was an intervention at the highest level of state to stop the arrest of the principal suspect," said Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, president of the local Association for the protection of human rights and detainees (APRODEH).

Burundi has been trying to foster a fragile reconciliation process following a civil war that has killed 300 000 people in 15 years.

- AFP