The joint trial of Clément Kayishema and Obed Ruzindana, which opened before Trial Chamber 2 of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on 11 Apri11997, is proceeding smoothly. The past three weeks have been mainly devoted to the hearing of prosecution witnesses. In all, eight witnesses have been heard, including one investigator and seven witnesses. The latter were all protected in accordance with the protective measures adopted by the Tribunal on 6 November 1996 at the request of the Prosecutor. No information that could identify them in one way or the other was given to the public or to the media.

This afternoon, the Chamber considered the motion filed by the counsel for Clément Kayishema on 7 March 1997. This motion calls, on the one hand, for equality of the means available to the Prosecution and to the Defense and, on the other hand, requests that the Prosecutor be restricted to the same number of assistants as that authorized for the Defense and paid for by the Registry. This was a question of applying the principle of equality of means, observed the Defense.

The Defense further maintained that its motion was not a preliminary motion, but that the matter at issue could be raised at any time during the proceedings. The Prosecution, for its part, indicated that the list of preliminary motions is limited to those cases expressly stipulated in the Rules of the Tribunal. Moreover, the motion was inadmissible in the form, as it had been filed after the prescribed 60-day time limit within which preliminary motions may be brought, after the initial appearance of the accused. The initial appearance of the accused took place on 31 May 1996. Any request for means should be addressed to the Administration, stated the Prosecutor. The Chamber will render its decision on the motion on Monday morning.