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Casmir Bizimungu, former Minister of Health, pleads not guilty

3 September 1999
The former Minister of Health in the 1994 interim Government of Rwanda, Casmir Bizimungu today pleaded not guilty to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity when he made his initial appearance before Trial Chamber II of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Bizimungu (48) could not enter his plea on 17 August 1999 when three other former... more

Agreement on enforcement of Tribunal sentences signed in Benin

26 August 1999
The Government of the Republic of Benin and the United Nations today signed an agreement in Cotonou, capital of Benin, under which Benin agrees to accommodate persons convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for the purpose of serving their sentences. Benin thus becomes the second country, following Mali, to sign such an agreement. The agreement was... more

Three former cabinet ministers plead not guilty

17 August 1999
Three former cabinet ministers in the 1994 interim Government of Rwanda today made their initial appearance before Trial Chamber II of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Two pleaded not guilty to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity and one had his plea of not guilty entered on his behalf by the Trial Chamber after he failed to plead. The... more

International media visit ICTR Detention Facility

13 August 1999
On Thursday 12 August a group of journalists, including members of the Rwandan and Tanzanian press and representatives of regional and international press agencies, visited the Detention Facility of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. The journalists, the first to be allowed to make such a visit, expressed close interest in the day to day... more

Tribunal lays groundwork to expedite trials

13 August 1999
In a busy judicial week, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) heard cases involving thirteen accused persons. First the Prosecution applied for permission to amend the indictments against eight of the accused. Those concerned then made initial appearances in respect of the amended indictments. Finally, the Prosecution applied for the cases to be joined into... more

Pauline Nyiramasuhuko facing fresh charges of encouraging sexual violence

11 August 1999
The indictment of the former Rwandan Minister for the Family and Women's Affairs, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko has been amended to include six additional counts, one of which accuses her of being responsible for rape "as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population on political, ethnic and racial grounds" in Butare, central Rwanda. The accused is jointly... more

Three Rwandan ex-ministers transferred to ICTR Detention Facility

2 August 1999
Three former members of the 1994 Interim Government of Rwanda, arrested and detained in Cameroon in April this year (see Press Release No. 176), were transferred to the ICTR Detention Facility in Arusha on Saturday, 31 July 1999. The three ex-Ministers transferred on Saturday are: Jérôme Bicamumpaka, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; Justin Mugenzi, former... more

Goverments appraise ICTR as Registrar meets envoys

6 July 1999
Several ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives in the Tanzanian capital of Dar es Salaam last week gave a considered appraisal of the performance of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Their common assessment: the Tribunal is doing a commendable job in discharging its mandate of bringing to justice the perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The... more

Trial of Musema ends

28 June 1999
The trial of Alfred Musema, a former Director of Gisovu Tea Factory, accused of committing genocide and crimes against humanity ended today with the Defence claiming that the Prosecution had failed to prove the case against the accused. Mr. Steven Kay, Q.C., counsel for the accused, told Trial Chamber I, "The Defence challenges the case of the Prosecution on the following... more

Laurent Semanza pleads not guilty to fresh charges

24 June 1999
Laurent Semanza, the former Bourgmestre of Bicumbi commune today pleaded not guilty to seven new counts in the Prosecutors indictement against him, as well as to previous charges. The seven new counts bring the total number of charges against Semanza to14. The new counts mostly concern alleged rapes of Tutsi women and other outrages upon their personal dignity. Counsel for the... more