03.12.09 - ICTR/MUNYAKAZI - DEFENCE GRANTED A SEVEN DAYS EXTENSION TO FILE CLOSING BRIEF

Arusha, December 3, 2009 (FH) - Yussuf Munyakazi's Defence has been granted an extension of seven working days to file its closing brief to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

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Both the Defence and the Prosecution were expected to file their closing briefs on or before December 7. They are still scheduled to present their oral arguments on January 28 and 29, 2010.

Lead Defence Counsel Jwani Mwaikusa had filed a motion on December 1 requesting the Chamber I to extend the time limits, explaining he "suffered exceptional and difficult personal circumstances over the last month, and that he has been under considerable stress impairing his concentration at work".

Yussuf Munyakazi, aged 74, is the oldest ICTR's detainee. He is charged with genocide and extermination.

The Prosecution alleges that Munyakazi led murderous attacks against Tutsis who had sought refuge in churches in three parishes, Nyamasheke, Shangi and Mibilizi, in 1994.

Munyakazi denies his responsibility for massacres of Tutsis. Testifying in his own defence in October, he said  : "It never happened ! Had I wanted to kill Tutsis, I would have started in Bugarama, my hometown". He also claimed  that he had actually hidden Tutsis under his roof.

Munyakazi's trial started on April 22.

The defendant was arrested in May 2004 in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where he lived as an Imam (Muslim religious leader) under a false identity.

ER/GF

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