Belgian historian testifies for the defense in Rwanda trial
Professor Filip Reyntjens, a Belgian historian specializing in Rwanda who had announced in 2005 his intention not to collaborate furthermore with the prosecution of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) as long as it would not have indicted elements of the of the RPF, began Tuesday to testify in favour of an ICTR defendant.
This defence testimony for Joseph Kanyabashi, the former mayor of Ngoma, should last two weeks. Kanyabashi is on trial with five other persons in the Butare trial which started in June 2001. He has pled not guilty. The Reyntjens' testimony was still at its beginning in early afternoon, before adjournment until Wednesday, while debating on the qualifications of the witness.
The Belgian historian, an expert witness in several trials at the ICTR, author of several works on Rwanda and the 1994 genocide, had on 11 January 2005 announced that he would not collaborate furthermore with the services of the prosecutor as long as they would not have indicted members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the former rebellion, in power for the past ten years in Kigali.
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This defence testimony for Joseph Kanyabashi, the former mayor of Ngoma, should last two weeks. Kanyabashi is on trial with five other persons in the Butare trial which started in June 2001. He has pled not guilty. The Reyntjens' testimony was still at its beginning in early afternoon, before adjournment until Wednesday, while debating on the qualifications of the witness.
The Belgian historian, an expert witness in several trials at the ICTR, author of several works on Rwanda and the 1994 genocide, had on 11 January 2005 announced that he would not collaborate furthermore with the services of the prosecutor as long as they would not have indicted members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the former rebellion, in power for the past ten years in Kigali.