Porvoo chief judge has no idea of defence witnesses in Rwanda genocide case

Genocide trial returned to Finland on Sunday

print this

The Porvoo District Court travelled to Rwanda in order to hear witnesses to a case involving a Rwanda-born resident of Porvoo, indicted on charges of taking part in the 1994 genocide.
      After staying in Rwanda for a month, the chief judge and the prosecutor returned to Finland on Sunday. The court proceedings against the suspect are to continue in Porvoo.
      The first to arrive at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport was chief judge Lars Karlsson, who was met by television and newspaper photographers and journalists at the terminal.
      The prosecutors were to arrive on a later flight, while the lawyers of the defendant Francois Bazaramba were to continue their stay in Africa, Karlsson reported.
     
Karlsson described his feelings regarding the proceedings in Rwanda as conflicting.
      ”The trip had its advantages, but on the other hand, it was quite a rigmarole”, Karlsson noted.
      Karlsson expressed his approval of the arrangements in Rwanda.
      ”We left for Rwanda in order to hear testimony from 37 prosecution witnesses, and eventually received statements from 38 people. In this respect our targets were met, and as far as the Rwanda arrangements are concerned everything went smoothly”, Karlsson continued.
      Karlsson noted further that even though they did not have much time for holidaying, they got a positive impression of the country itself.
      ”Judging from my experiences while jogging in the morning in the slum area surrounding our hotel, we were very kindly received”, Karlsson said.
      ”As far as we were concerned the security situation was good”, he added.
     
When it came to drawbacks Karlsson was tight-lipped. However, he was unwilling to evaluate point-blank whether it was worthwhile to send the court to Rwanda in the first place.
      "I will have to sleep on that before I can answer to such a significant question”, Karlsson replied.
     
The court proceedings have been polemical and there has been no shortage of controversy. Ville Hoikkala, the defendant’s lawyer, put forward a motion in September calling for the disqualification of Lars Karlsson after the presiding judge had publicly voiced the opinion that Bazaramba could have received a fair trial in Rwanda.
      In addition, the defence has reported an offence by chief judge Lars Karlsson and district prosecutor Tom Laitinen. According to Ville Hoikkala, the statements by Rwandan witnesses in the case have been extracted through torture.
     
At the same time, the prosecution is considering filing a request for a police investigation against Ville Hoikkala. Allegedly, Hoikkala had tried to bribe a witness to change his or her testimony.
      ”It is self-evident that I would like legal proceedings to progress peacefully, but it is not always possible to have control over the legal process”, Karlsson commented, adding: ”I would have liked myself that things could have gone differently.”
     
The court proceedings are to resume in Porvoo in a week from now. Karlsson was not willing to give any estimate regarding the likely duration of the trial.
      ”It will depend entirely on who the witnesses are, from where they are coming, and when the defence is to present its witnesses”, Karlsson noted, saying that the defence witnesses are expected to come from various parts of Africa.
      ”I do not have any more accurate information about the defence witnesses. As far as I know, neither has anyone else”, Karlsson concluded.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish genocide trial in Rwanda interrupted twice by technical difficulties (16.9.2009)
  Defendant in Rwanda genocide case had trouble remembering days before massacre (4.9.2009)
  Genocide trial opens: defence motion to disqualify judge denied (1.9.2009)
  Prosecutor in genocide case takes court on tour of Rwanda village (17.9.2009)
  Porvoo court to travel to Rwanda to hear testimony (8.6.2009)

Helsingin Sanomat