CANADIAN JOURNALIST TESTIFIES IN GENOCIDE TRIAL

Arusha, October 31, 2001 (FH) - A Canadian journalist, Hugh McCullum, on Wednesday began testifying as an expert witness in the genocide trial of Seventh Day Adventist pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana and his son Doctor Gerald Ntakirutimana at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). McCullum was in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.

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Pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana is being jointly tried with his son Gerald Ntakirutimana. At the time of the genocide, Elizaphan was pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist church at Mugonero in Kibuye, western Rwanda. Gerald was a medical doctor at the infirmary which lay in the same complex. The two are charged with five counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed during the 1994 genocide. McCullum is the author of a book on Rwandan genocide entitled "The angels have left us; The Rwandan tragedy and the church". He is a journalist trainer for the South African Development Community (SADC). McCullum is the last prosecution witness in this trial. McCullum appeared for a few minutes in which he explained his CV, before the court adjourned for the day. He will start substantive testimony on Thursday. The case is before Trial Chamber One of the ICTR, composed of judges Erik Mose of Norway (presiding), Navanethem Pillay of South Africa and new judge Andrésia Vaz of Senegal. GG/JC/PHD/FH (NK1031e)