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Lawyers at Rwanda tribunal begin three-day strikeBy Hirondelle News Agency Lawyers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Wednesday began a three-day strike in protest over "the deterioration of their working conditions". Both the accused and the defence counsels in the trial of four senior army officers in the former Rwandan army (ex-FAR), boycotted morning proceedings. One of the accused in the trial, Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, is considered by the prosecution as the "mastermind" of the genocide. He was the former director of cabinet in the Rwandan ministry of defence. The president of the ICTR, judge Erik Møse from Norway, on Wednesday morning expressed his regrets on the decision taken by the defence teams. "Any misunderstanding with the registry should be tackled through the right channels in order not to disrupt proceedings", he said. Judge Mose met with lawyers’ representatives on Tuesday evening but was unable to convince them to put off the strike. "The president showed broad-mindedness, but our committee has no powers to change a decision made by the general assembly", explained, Pascal Besnier from France, one of the lawyers who spoke to Hirondelle News Agency. Besnier added that a general assembly would be called by the lawyers Wednesday morning to decide on the next course to take. Though the accused in the so-called "Government II" trial were absent, their defence teams appeared in court " to explain the situation". The trial groups together four former ministers. The lawyers denounced what they called "repeated lack of respect of the rights of the accused and a show of disrespect to the lawyers". They also complained of the "increase of fastidious security control measures endured by the defence" while visiting their clients at the UN detention facilities. Though the strike is expected to last three days, "it can
be extended," they added.
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