\nArusha, September 7, 2000 (FH) \u2013 Genocide suspect Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza has called on two judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to withdraw from his case, following their recent visit to Rwanda, the independent news agency Hirondelle reports. The judges concerned are ICTR President Navanethem Pillay of South Africa and Vice-President Eric Mose of Norway.\n<\/p>\n
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\nJudges Pillay and Mose, along with three other ICTR judges, visited Rwanda at the end of August. Their itinerary included visits to two massacre sites and meetings with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Attorney-General Gerald Gahima. \u201cWith respect, we urge you to recuse yourself from hearing Mr. Barayagwiza\u2019s case pursuant to Rule 15 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence,\u201d the defendant\u2019s American co-counsel wrote to each of the two judges on Thursday. \u201cMeetings with Messrs. Kagame and Gahima in a non-judicial setting, when the very conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity which are alleged against our client are the reason for the meeting, are highly inappropriate. The appearance of impropriety is exacerbated by the fact it comes within three weeks of the scheduled start of this trial. \u201dArticle 15 of the ICTR Rules of Procedure and Evidence requires judges to withdraw from a case if they have a personal interest in it or have been in a situation which could compromise their impartiality. Barayagwiza, a former politician and founder of Radio T\u00e9l\u00e9vision Libre des Mille Collines, is due to be tried with two other suspects linked to the so-called hate-media which incited genocide in Rwanda in 1994. The trial is due to start on September 18th. Danielson argues that \u201cboth Messrs. Kagame and Gahima have been allowed to directly inject themselves into a pending case before this Tribunal\u201d, and that for the judges to meet \u201cwith those holding the existence of the Tribunal hostage three weeks before trial compromises your honor\u2019s impartiality\u201d. He refers to Rwanda\u2019s suspension of co-operation with the ICTR after the Tribunal\u2019s Appeals Court ordered the release of his client on procedural grounds. The Appeals Court subsequently revised its decision after the Prosecutor presented \u201cnew facts\u201d and Rwanda was allowed to appear as an amicus curiae (friend of the court). It was represented at the hearing by Attorney-General Gahima. \u201cThe government of Rwanda has been clear from the start about how the Tribunal can assure its continued cooperation,\u201d writes Danielson. \u201cMr Barayagwiza must be convicted. Mr. Gahima made it clear in his argument that our client was guilty. He did not ask for a fair trial. He asked \u2013 with the price being the very survival of this Tribunal \u2013 for his conviction. \u201dDanielson says the judges\u2019 visit to Rwanda was \u201cexplicitly designed to improve relations and cure the damage to relations between the Tribunal and the government of Rwanda caused by the \u201cBarayagwiza affair\u201d. That is a political, and not judicial, function\u201d. Speaking to journalists after the judges\u2019 visit to Rwanda, Judge Pillay said that it \u201cin no way affects our impartiality, because we judge each case on the evidence presented in the courtroom \u201d. \"We are judges, not politicians,\" she stressed. \"We've been sitting on these cases for four years and we have some experience. We've heard the evidence and there is some stability inside Rwanda as well, and important questions now come up for consideration: Are we in a position to complete the cases of people awaiting trial? Is the prosecution able to investigate properly? Can defence counsel go there? Are witnesses being taken care of? These are concerns of the President of the Tribunal. I head the whole Tribunal and I'm supposed to take care of everyone's interests, includingaccused persons. \"ICTR prisoners do not see it that way, however, and have also written to the Tribunal President. \u201cWe find it unjust,\u201d they wrote in a letter dated September 7th, \u201cthat our Judges visit the sites (of massacres) and form impressions, pretending to do it in the interests of all the parties while the parties are absent. It is not just, either, that General Paul Kagame, main architect of the Rwandan tragedy, be honoured with a visit by ICTR judges. By doing so, you have served to confirm his illusions that he need not worry about being arrested and judged for his crimes. You have confirmed, once again, that the ICTR is there to ensure a victor\u2019s justice over the vanquished. \u201dAfter a long category of complaints about the judges\u2019 visit, 25 genocide suspects say they are asking their defence teams to \u201ctake the measures necessary to safeguard our right to just and fair trials\u201d. JC\/FH (BR%0907e)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arusha, September 7, 2000 (FH) \u2013 Genocide suspect Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza has called on two judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to withdraw from his case, following their recent visit to Rwanda, the independent news agency Hirondelle reports. The judges concerned are ICTR President Navanethem Pillay of South Africa and Vice-President Eric Mose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-15853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hirondellenews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n