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Issue 00536 |
September 20 - 26, 2008 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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UN Tribunal |
| Military II
Trial: Chamber adjourns case second time in less than a week By Hirondelle News Agency Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Monday once again was compelled to adjourn the hearing of defence case of the former Commander of the Rwandan Reconnaissance Battalion, Major Francois-Xavier Nzuwonemeye, to Tuesday, shortly after the 22 defence witness had completed his testimony. The defence case of Major Nzuwonemeye, who is jointly charged alongside three other former senior members of the Rwandan army for their role in the 1994 genocide, has been a subject of adjournment for the second time in less than one week because of the late arrivals of accused’s defence witnesses . Led in his Examination-in-Chief by Charles Taku from Cameroon, the witness, also former member of Reconnaissance battalion only known as “Y2” to protect his identity told the court that he had not seen the accused Nzuwonemeye issuing orders or speaking to men under his command during the massacres. He alleged that during the time in question he and other members of his squadron received orders and other important information from their squadron Commander rather than from their Commandant. Almost the entire cross examination of witness Y2 was conducted in closed session until the hearing was adjourned to Tuesday when another defence witness code-named “S3” is expected to testify. The trial, which resumed last Monday, was adjourned for two days later after the testimony of two defence witnesses due to delayed arrivals of witnesses. Other defendants in the trial are Nzuwonemeye’s Deputy Commander, Captain Innocent Sagahutu (who will be the last accused to stand at the witness box) and two former Chiefs of Staffs of the Army, General Augustin Bizimungu and that of the Gendarmerie National, General Augustin Ndindiliyimana .Both the Generals have already defended themselves before the Tribunal. All the accused have denied to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. The trial commenced September, 2004. The trial is presided by Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka), Taghreed Hikmet (Jordan), Seon Ki Park (South Korea).
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