BUTARE TRIAL ADJOURNS TO JUNE 9

Arusha, March 26, 2003 (FH) - Trial Chamber Two of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has on Wednesday adjourned the socalled Butare trial to June 9, 2003. The trial groups six genocide suspects from Butare prefecture, South East Rwanda.

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Tanzanian presiding Judge William Sekule said the next session is expected to run for another five weeks, from June 9th to July 10th. The chamber will now resume hearing another trial, involving the former Mayor of Mukingo commune, Juvenal Kajelijeli next Monday. Earlier in the morning, the chamber went into closed session to reexamine the twentythird prosecution witness, a Tutsi woman dubbed QY to protect her identity. During the afternoon session, four defense counsels submitted summaries of written contradictions and omissions made by witness QY in the course of her testimony. Defense counsels uncovered a series of contradictions and omissions between the written and oral testimonies during crossexamination sessions with the witness. Qy started testifying Wednesday, March 19th. The six accused in the Butare trial include Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, former Minister of Family and Woman Affairs and her son Arsene Shalom Ntahobali, two former prefects of Butare, Sylvain Nsabimana and Alphonse Ntezirayo and two former Mayors in the same prefect, Joseph Kanyabashi of Ngoma commune and Elie Ndayambaje of Muganza commune. In the course of the present session, which started on February 24, the chamber has managed to hear evidence from five prosecution witnesses. QY who was the last one. When the trial started on June 13, 2001, the prosecution announced that they would present about 100 witnesses. The case is before Trial Chamber Two presided over by judge William Sekule, assisted by judges Arlette Ramaroson of Madagascar and Winston Churchill Matanzima Maqutu of Lesotho. NI/CE/FH (BU'0326e)