23.08.07 - ICTR/FRANCE - THE PROSECUTOR OF THE ICTR "CONTINUES" HIS WORK TO HAVE TWO RWANDANS TRIED

The catholic priest Wenceslas Munyeshyaka and the former prefect of Gikongoro (southern Rwanda) Laurent Bucyibaruta had been arrested, on 20 July, on the basis of arrest warrants issued by the ICTR.
   
Residing in known addresses and due to a lack of evidence that they posed a flight risk, the Court of Appeal of Paris refused on 1 August the arrest and detention request.
 
"The prosecutor continues to work. Actions are underway to ensure that justice is rendered ", declared at a news conference on Thursday the spokesperson of the office of the prosecutor, Timothy Gallimore.
 
The ICTR prosecutor, Hassan Bubacar Jallow, is in discussions with the French Ministry of Justice through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Gallimore. "The results are awaited soon", he added.
 
The United Nations Tribunal had requested that both accused be placed in detention while waiting that an ICTR chamber ruled on a motion from the prosecutor aiming at transferring their cases to French courts. The two men were already under judicial supervision within the framework of an open procedure in France and on instruction by a first instance court.
 
The ICTR, which the Security Council has asked to finish its first instance trials by the end of next year, is obligated, in order to respect this timeframe, to transfer certain cases to national courts.
 
Based in Arusha, in the north of Tanzania, the ICTR has delivered, to date, 28 convictions and 5 acquittals.
 
ER/PB/MM
 
© Hirondelle News Agency