STATEMENT BY REGISTRAR OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDA ON NON-RENEWAL

OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS OF CERTAIN DEFENCE INVESTIGATORS

(Reissued as received.)

ARUSHA, 16 July – It will be recalled that, on 13 June, the Registrar issued a statement on some issues relating to the defence of accused persons at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.  In that statement, the Registrar outlined measures that had been taken by the Registry to prevent abuses of the legal aid system of the Tribunal and to protect the integrity of the Tribunal’s judicial process.  These measures include ensuring that persons who should not be involved in the work of a United Nations Tribunal established to seek justice for the Rwandan genocide of 1994 are not so involved in any manner.  Furthermore, the Registrar made clear that further measures in this context would be taken by the Registry if and when necessary.

Pursuant to this policy position, the Registrar has decided that the employment contracts of certain defence investigators employed by defence counsel in cases before the Tribunal, which have recently expired, will not be renewed.  The contract of one defence investigator, which is still valid, has been suspended.  The investigators affected and the reasons for the Registrar’s decision in each case are as follows:

Mr. Augustin BASEBAYA, investigator for the Defence in the case of Juvenal Kajelijeli, former Mayor of Mukingo in Rwanda’s Ruhengeri Prefecture:

Mr. Basebaya’s contract expired on 11 June.  His contract will not be renewed because he is on the list of suspects of genocide (Category One) maintained by the judicial authorities of Rwanda, and his case is pending before the Prosecutor of Kigali.

Mr. Augustin KARERA, investigator for the Defence in the case of Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda, former Minister of Culture and Education in the Interim Government of Rwanda in 1994:  Mr. Karera’s contract expired on 27 June.  His contract will not be renewed because he is on the list of suspects of genocide (Category One) maintained by the judicial authorities of Rwanda, and his case is pending before the Prosecutor of Gikongoro.

Mr. Aloys NGENDAHIMANA, investigator for the Defence in the case of Ferdinand Nahimana, former Director of the Radio Television Libre Des Mille Collines: 

Mr. Ngendahimana’s contract expired on 12 July.  His contract will not be renewed because he is on the list of suspects of genocide (Category One) maintained by the judicial authorities of Rwanda, and his case is pending before the Prosecutor of Gikongoro.

Mr. Thaddee KWITONDA, investigator for the Defence in the case of Arsene Shalom Ntahobali, a former leader in the Interhamwe militia:  Mr. Kwitonda’s contract will expire on 8 August.  His contract has been suspended because he is currently under investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for crimes allegedly committed during the 1994 genocide.

It is of utmost importance to stress that, in making these decisions, the Registry of the International Tribunal makes no presumption of the guilt of these individuals for the crimes of which they are suspected or accused.  Thus, the Tribunal stands ready to reconsider them for clearance for employment by any defence counsel in the Tribunal should they be cleared of the charges and suspicions against them in the Rwandan judicial system or in the International Tribunal.  Official communications of these decisions, including the reasons for them, and the fact that they are made without prejudice to the findings of the relevant legal/judicial processes, have been transmitted to the Defence Counsel on whose teams these Defence investigators are employed.

For further information, please consult our Web site:  http://www.Ictr.org, or contact the Press and Public Affairs Unit through our e-mail address:

Ictr-press@un.org.  Telephone: (212) 963-2850; Fax: (212) 963-2848.

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