The United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda has decided to hand over a suspect to face trial in Rwanda, the first time genocide suspects will have their cases heard in the country.
The decision, by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, is seen as a victory for the Rwandan legal system. The Rwandan government has praised the decision commenting that it “shows the world how far we have come”, adding,
“Rwanda had made material changes in its laws and had indicated its capacity and willingness to prosecute cases referred by the ICTR adhering to internationally recognized fair trial standards.”
However, concerns have still been raised over whether all defendants would receive a fair trial Carina Tertsakian, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, saying,
"We don't believe that there are guarantees that Rwanda can provide a fair trial. The government of Rwanda does have the ability to influence what goes on in the courts, especially on political or sensitive cases."
The case to be transferred is that of Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi a former Pastor of the Pentecostal Church who was alleged to have led a Hutu mob that murdered Tutsi during the 1994 genocide. He faces three counts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity.
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