On April 19, Pastor Uwinkindi was the first ICTR detainee ever transferred to the Rwandan Justice.
“I am not ready yet”, he argued, explaining that he had met his lawyer for the first time the day before his initial appearance. His lawyer, Gatera Gashabana, former president of the Rwandan Bar, was sitting next to him.
“We are requesting a four month delay to have time to study the case”, Uwinkindi added.
“We haven’t read the file yet so we don’t know if there are serious reasons justifying that my client be kept in jail”, Gashabana added.
Judge John Byakatonda will rule on the matter on Friday.
Pastor Uwinkindi was arrested on June 30, 2010 in Uganda and transferred to the seat of ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania, two days later.
SRE-ER/GF