\nArusha, 24 July 2007(FH)-The trial of Emmanuel Rukundo, one of the four catholic priests indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), has been adjourned until 3 September, it was learnt Tuesday in Arusha.\u00a0
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On trial since 15 November 2006, Rukundo, 48, has been presenting his defense since 9 July.
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\nThe ICTR Prosecutor accuses him of participating in the massacres of Tutsis in Kabgayi, in central Rwanda. He has pleaded not guilty.
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\nIn 1994, Rukundo was a military chaplain. The Prosecutor alleges that he was always escorted by soldiers and Interahamwe militiamen affiliated to the former presidential party, the Mouvement R\u00e9publicain National pour la D\u00e9mocratie et le D\u00e9veloppement (MRND),while he was hunting Tutsi refugees to kill.
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\nDuring his visits, he brought a list that he used to call on the Tutsi and control their whereabouts. Afterwards he passed the list to the soldiers and Interahamwe who took the persons included in the list to kill them or cause them serious bodily or mental harm, according to the indictment.
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\nDefence witnesses have stated that Rukundo never went on the sites of the massacres. The priest is being defended by Aicha Cond\u00e9 (France) and Alisson Turner (Canada).
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\nThe president of the chamber, Judge Joseph Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka), stated that the Rukundo case will conclude on 6 October.
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\nBesides Rukundo, the tribunal has already indicted three other priests. Only one of them, Athanase Seromba, former vicar at the parish of Nyange (western Rwanda), has been tried. Convicted to fifteen years in prison on 13 December 2006, his case is in appeal.
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\nAs in Rukundo's case, Father Hormisdas Nsengimana, vice-chancellor of the Christ-Roi College of Nyanza (southern Rwanda) in 1994, is also currently on trial.
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\nFather Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, former priest of the Saint-Family parish in Kigali has been detained since last Friday in France. The Prosecutor wants him to be tried over there but the ICTR has not made its decision yet.
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\nAT\/MM
\n\u00a9 Hirondelle News Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arusha, 24 July 2007(FH)-The trial of Emmanuel Rukundo, one of the four catholic priests indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), has been adjourned until 3 September, it was learnt Tuesday in Arusha.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/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-18931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hirondellenews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n