By Shahroo Yazdani, January 20, 2010
In the fourteen years since the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has been established, it has made a number of decisions that have angered survivors of the Rwandan genocide. As may be expected, many of these disappointments have been the direct result of acquittal judgments handed down in genocide cases.
This fragile relationship has become more strained in recent months due to the ICTR Appeals Chamber’s shocking move to acquit Protais Zigiranyirazo on November 16, 2009. Zigiranyirazo, the brother-in-law of the late Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana, was originally charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise to kill Tutsis at Kesho Hill, as well as aiding and abetting genocide in relation to the killing of Tutsis at a roadblock in Kiyovu. In 2008, Trial Chamber III found Zigiranyirazo guilty and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment on one count and 15 on the other count. In its recent decision, the Appeals Chamber reversed the Trial Chamber’s judgment after finding factual and legal errors in the lower chamber’s assessment of Zigiranyirazo’s alibi. According to the Appeals Chamber, the prosecution was unable to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Zigiranyirazo was involved in the alleged killings and the Trial Chamber erred by shifting the burden of proof to the accused.
The unexpected move was followed by another on November 17, 2009, when the ICTR decided to acquit Father Hormisdas Nsengimana. Nsengimana, a Catholic priest who was arrested in 2002, was originally thought to have been at the center of a group of Hutu extremists that carried out attacks in Nyanza in 1994. He has been accused of both direct and indirect killings, and among his alleged victims are a Tutsi priest, a judge, and others. After a thorough examination of all the charges brought against Nsengimana, Trial Chamber I found that there was not enough evidence to indict him and ordered his immediate release.
As expected, the two acquittals have caused anger within the survivor community, sparking protests from individuals as well as survivor organizations. The protestors, who gathered in front of the ICTR documentation center three days after Nsengimana’s release, criticized the ICTR, calling the acquittals “malpractices.” Others, such as Jean de Dieu Mucyo, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), have attributed the acquittals to the laxity of ICTR prosecutors. The CNLG, as well as other similar organizations, are of great value to the ICTR because they provide survivor witnesses to assist the prosecution. However, the recent judgments have caused many such groups to threaten to discontinue providing such services, which would significantly hinder the prosecution.
With pressure from survivor groups mounting, the ICTR is now in a delicate position. The decisions it makes in the coming months may have the power to considerably alter the ICTR’s future.
