The Tribunal, sitting as Trial Chamber 1 of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), composed of Judge Yakov A. Ostrovsky (presiding), Judge Lennart Aspegren, and Judge Navanethem Pillay, decided to postpone the trial of Georges Anderson Nderumbumwe Rutaganda to 6 March 1997.

The Tribunal decided that a sufficient case under Rule 65 has not been made out to the Trial Chamber at this particular time, both on a legal and practical basis, for the immediate provisional release of Georges Anderson Nderumbumwe Rutaganda.

The decision of the Tribunal is based on the fact that since his transfer to the Tribunal's custody, Georges Anderson Rutaganda has been seriously ill and has been constantly provided with all the necessary and appropriate medical attention. The Prosecution was represented by Judge Honoré Rakotomanana and by trial Attorney Yakob Haile Mariam.

Luc De Temmerman, acting as the Counsel of Georges Anderson Nderumbumwe Rutaganda had requested the Tribunal to postpone the date of the trial and to provisionally release his client on grounds of ill health.

Georges Anderson Rutaganda., one of the four detainees held at the Tribunal detention facilities, has been in custody in Arusha since his transfer from Zambia on 26 May 1996. Georges Anderson Rutaganda was transferred to a civilian hospital on 5 September 1996. He is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions.