Porvoo court considers trip to Tanzania to hear defence witnesses

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Porvoo District Court, which returned to Finland from Rwanda a week ago, is planning a second trip to Africa in connection with the ongoing genocide trial.
      The court spent about a month in Rwanda, hearing testimony from 38 witnesses in the trial of a Rwandan man suspected of involvement in the 1994 genocide in that country.
      Most of the witnesses so far have testified for the prosecution. Most of the witnesses named by the defence have not yet been heard.
     
The court’s secretary Petra Spring-Reiman says that there are 21 defence witnesses, many of whom live in Burundi.
      Original plans were for the court to travel to Burundi directly from Rwanda to hear the testimony, but the trip was cancelled after Burundi did not respond to requests for assistance from Finland.
      Defence witnesses from other African countries are to be invited to come to Porvoo to testify.
     
Now the court plans to hear most of the defence witnesses in one location in some African country. The most likely such country could be Tanzania.
      The witnesses to be heard in Tanzania mainly live in refugee camps in different countries. Finland does not have the authority to subpoena them to testify.
      Finland has an Embassy in Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, which would make arrangements easier.
      No final decisions have been made on the court’s possible trip to Tanzania, which would take an estimated two weeks.
      The trial itself resumed in Porvoo on Monday, focussing on practical matters.
      Later in the autumn witnesses are to be questioned in Porvoo as well. At least one Rwandan living in the United States is to give testimony, and expert witnesses from various countries are also to testify.
      A verdict in the trial could come sometime next year. >


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Defendant in Rwanda genocide case had trouble remembering days before massacre (4.9.2009)
  Porvoo court to travel to Rwanda to hear testimony (8.6.2009)
  Porvoo chief judge has no idea of defence witnesses in Rwanda genocide case (19.10.2009)
  Prosecutor in genocide case takes court on tour of Rwanda village (17.9.2009)
  Finnish genocide trial in Rwanda interrupted twice by technical difficulties (16.9.2009)

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