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ICTR lawyers threaten to go on strikeBy Hirondelle News Agency
All defense lawyers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) threatened to go on strike as from Wednesday in protest of what they said is the "lack of respect of the rights of the defense". In a statement released Tuesday by the defense lawyers' association, the defense attorneys said that they would go on a three-day strike in order to publicize their plight. They complained of new measures put in place by the ICTR administration that was in contravention of the right of the accused to a fair trial. These new obstacles hamper the defense teams in preparing their cases and only goes to bolster the position of the prosecutor, partly read the statement in French. They went on to list a number of grievances that they say the tribunal was made aware of as far as last year. "This comes as a complete surprise", said Roland Amoussouga, spokesperson of the ICTR when contacted by Hirondelle News Agency. He added that the president of the tribunal, Erik Møse of Norway would meet with the lawyers later on Tuesday to find a solution to the crisis. Christopher Black, the Canadian defence counsel for one of the accused, General Augustin Ndindiliyimana, said that they wanted to show the world that these people are not getting a fair trial. "This is a complete kangaroo court, a show trial. It is totally political and has nothing to do with criminal justice", he alleged. The lawyer strongly attacked the tribunal, saying that there was no independent judiciary. "It is a charade". He added that the indictments were "nothing more than propaganda tracts". He went as far as accusing the United States of manipulating the tribunal with the intention of using the RPF regime "in order to control the Congo" and "keeping the entire Hutu intellectuals and former government leaders in prison so that they can never take power again". The lawyers have also hinted that the
boycott might continue beyond the three days if their grievances are not
addressed to their satisfaction.
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