Rwandan man accused of genocide says he tried to save Tutsis

Preliminary hearing held in Porvoo

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The defence of a Rwandan man accused of taking part in the genocide in his country in 1994 raised questions about the police investigation against him, as well as all charges, and the very legality of the court case itself. The defendant appeared on Tuesday at a preliminary hearing of his case at Porvoo district Court.
      Dressed in a dark blue suit and a tie, the defendant arrived in the courtroom under police escort. He has been in custody for over two years.
     He appeared calm, and made no attempt to conceal his face from the many press cameras.
     
State Prosecutor Raija Toiviainen called for a life sentence for either genocide, or 15 counts of murder.
     The defendant has denied involvement in the bloodshed ever since the first police interrogations in 2007.
     The man said that during the violence, he mainly stayed inside his house, and with friends. He fled Rwanda with his family soon after the genocide started in 1994.
     According to the defence, the man hid at least two people in his house and other buildings. “He put himself in danger because of it”, said the defendant’s lawyer Ville Hoikkala.
     The prosecution did not dispute this, but insisted that the man nevertheless took part in the genocide through other actions.
     
According to Hoikkala the unfounded accusations of genocide originate at least partly from the present administration of Rwanda, which is persecuting exiled members of the former Hutu elite.
     Hoikkala also denounces as unreliable the statements of a number of prosecution witnesses, saying that local officials have tortured or threatened to torture them, and have also offered inducements to testify against the defendant.
     “Of the 38 witnesses for the prosecution, 15 are still in prison”, Hoikkala pointed out during a break in the proceedings.
     “In addition, many witnesses in Rwanda have taken possession of my client’s property, such as his house, fields, and cattle. They would benefit if my client is convicted here.”
     
The prosecutor considers claims that witnesses have been tortured or intimidated so serious, that she plans to ask all of the witnesses in the current trial to testify on the matter.
     Hoikkala called for a postponement of the main trial, because police have not been able to interview three African witnesses named by the defence.
     The defence sees this as an indication that the preliminary investigation is still unfinished, and that this means that under the law, the trial should not start yet. However, the presiding judge, Lars Karlsson, rejected the request.
     
The main trial is scheduled to begin on September 1st. In mid-September the court will travel to the Rwandan capital Kigali for about a month to examine witnesses, if the local administration grants permission.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Porvoo court to travel to Rwanda to hear testimony (8.6.2009)
  COMMENTARY: Rwanda genocide case tests international reach of Finnish law (12.4.2007)
  Brax: Rwanda trial set to cost hundreds of thousands of euros (5.6.2008)
  Prosecutor denies witness statements against Rwandan man acquired by torture (2.6.2009)
  Finland will not extradite suspected war criminal to Rwanda (20.2.2009)

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