RWANDAN PASTOR'S GENOCIDE TRIAL TO RESUME NEXT MONTH

Arusha, January 8, 2002 (FH) - The genocide trial of Seventh Day Adventist pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana and his son Gerald is set to resume on February 4th before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and not on January 14th as previously announced. Informed sources say hearings have been put back because the accused Gerald Ntakirutimana has been assigned a new defence lawyer.

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In December the ICTR announced it had assigned him David Jacobs of Canada, to replace EdwardMedvene of the US who was suffering from health problems. At the time of the 1994 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 have pleadednot guilty to five counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Pastor Elizaphan is defended by former US Attorney General Ramsay Clark of the US. The trial was suspended last November 5th after the prosecution closed its case. It is set to resume with the hearing of witnesses for the defence. The case is before Trial Chamber One of the ICTR, composed of judges Erik Mose of Norway (presiding), Navanethem Pillay of South Africa and Andrésia Vaz of Senegal. It started on September 18, 2001. Since then, the court has heard 19 prosecution witnesses in 27 trial days, making it the speediest case before the ICTR so far. AT/JC/DO/FH (NT-0108e)The Deputy Registrar heads the ICTR's Judicial and Legal Services division, one of the Registry's two divisions, alongside Administration. "So the Deputy Registrar has an important role to play in the smooth functioning of the court," said Moghalu. He said this includes supervising such areas as judgement writing; witness protection and witness support; and assignment of defence counsel to indigent detainees. Munlo arrives as the ICTR has seven trials of 17 accused alternating before three Trial Chambers. The Tribunal currently has 52 people in detention. SW/JC/PHD/FH (RE1004E)