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\nArusha, 17 October 2007 (FH) - A general accused of genocide intends to call as a witness the spokesperson of the former prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), announced Wednesday his lawyer.
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Christopher Black, the Canadian lawyer who is defending General Augustin Ndindiliyimana, stated that he was going to file a motion to have testify Florence Hartmann, spokesperson of the former prosecutor of the ICTR, the Swiss Carla Del Ponte.
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\nFlorence Hartmann recently published a book which tells how the prosecution of war crimes attributed to the former Rwandan rebellion, currently in power, was abandoned by the ICTR at the request of the American government.
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\nThe announcement of Mr. Black follows a debate that he had caused Tuesday at the resumption of the Military II trial in which his client is on trial alongside three other officers.
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\nBlack had requested an investigation into the independence of the prosecution, to which its representative had been opposed.
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\n"I would like that Mrs. Hartmann be called as a witness, that she be heard live" pled Black. He asserted that the lead prosecutor in this case, Ivorian Alphonse Van, had claimed that her book "was fiction".
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\nOn Tuesday, Black stated that "Florence Hartmann is a rather important personality. These allegations were not refuted by Del Ponte or by the American government ".
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\nQuestioned by the Hirondelle agency after the publication of this book, the spokesperson of the current prosecutor, for his part, had stated that his boss was not informed of any such discussions or agreements.
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\nFormer Chief of Staff of the National Gendarmerie, General Ndindiliyimana is on trial alongside his army colleague General Augustin Bizimungu and two other officers.
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\nThe Military II trial began on 20 September 2004. Only Bizimungu has started his defence. A witness heard Wednesday indicated that he had not taken part in meetings in the north of the country during which Hutus had been encouraged to kill Tutsis.
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\nProsecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in 1994, Bizimungu and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.
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\nAT\/PB <\/p>\n
© Hirondelle News Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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