15.09.09 - RWANDA/FINLAND - FINNISH COURT BEGINS TESTIMONIES IN KIGALI

15 September 2009 By

Arusha, 15 September 2009 (FH) - On Tuesday, a Finnish court began in Kigali a series of witness testimonies within the framework of the trial of the Baptist Pastor Francois Bazaramba, who is prosecuted in Finland for his alleged role in the genocide committed against mainly ethnic Tutsis in 1994, reports Hirondelle Agency.

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The first to be organized in Finland in connection with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Pastor Bazaramba's trial started on 1 September in this Scandinavian country.

The testimonies organized in Rwanda are proceeding behind closed sessions and is expected to last several days, a source reached at the Supreme Court of Rwanda hinted.

Bazaramba, 58, arrived in Finland in 2003 and was arrested in 2007.

The Baptist Pastor is accused by Finnish prosecution of having ordered in April 1994 the murder of 15 Tutsis, including children, in the municipality of Nyakizu, southern Rwanda.

In Kigali, a videoconference system was set up so that the defendant could, from Finland, follow the course of events, reported Tuesday the Rwandan Information Agency (RIA).

The Rwandan pro-government newspaper, The New Times, reported that the Finnish court may remain in Rwanda for at least a month for witness testimonies and visits to the sites of alleged crimes.

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