ARUSHA, TZ --The Bureau of the ICTR Association des Avocats de la Defense (ADAD), notes with sadness and alarm the murder of our ICTR colleague, University of Dar es Salaam Law Professor Jwani Mwaikusa, who was shot to death at his home on July 14. Professor Mwaikusa had recently prevented the transfer of ICTR defendants to Rwanda on “lack of fair trial” grounds, and announced the appeal of his client’s July 3 conviction.
Our colleague’s murder is not an isolated incident. Within the past month, a prominent Rwandan opposition journalist was also shot to death in front of his home; a former Rwandan general survived an apparent assassination attempt in front of his home in South Africa, where he is seeking asylum; the de-capitated body of the Rwandan Green Party Vice-president was found near his abandoned car and, the Party’s President has been publicly threatened with assassination.
Hundreds of potential Rwandan opposition candidates and supporters have been arrested or disappeared. Presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire was arrested for suggesting that both Tutsi and Hutu were victims during the 1990-94 civil war and genocide, and her Dutch, U.S. and Rwandan lawyers were also arrested.
The Mwaikusa murder also follows the illegal arrest of other lawyers. U.S. Law Professor Peter Erlinder was arrested in late May on “genocide-denial” charges based on his public statements arising from his work in the ICTR Military 1 Trial, in which four former senior military officers were acquitted of “genocide conspiracy” charges in February 2009, and his representation of Madame Ingabire. ICTR defense lawyers refused to participate in proceedings after his arrest, and he was released after an international campaign.
But, the Rwandan government refuses to recognize meaningful UN-granted immunity for Erlinder or other ICTR defense counsel. Defense lawyer Peter Robinson (a former Assistant U.S. Attorney) has asked to withdraw from the ICTR representation because a meaningful defense is not possible, under current conditions. Other ICTR defense attorneys are considering similar measures.
Rwandan government threats to ICTR defense counsel are also not isolated incidents. In 2006, ICTR defense lawyer Me. Gakwaya was arrested on a Rwandan “genocide” warrant when he arrived at the ICTR to represent his client and, although he was eventually released, he was forced to end his ICTR work. Many other defense team members have been forced to give up ICTR work, because of threats, or arrest, by the Rwanda government. The Erlinder arrest, Mwaikusa murder and continuing threats against defense team members make clear that the ICTR cannot guarantee the safety of defense team members, anywhere in Africa.
In addition, during the past-2 months credible media reports have documented the systematic withholding of evidence helpful to the defense by the ICTR Prosecutor, which further deepens our concern because only the losing side in the Rwanda civil war has been prosecuted at the ICTR. The ADAD Bureau is deeply concerned that the impossibility of meaningful defense at the ICTR has called into question the legitimacy of the ICTR, itself, an open question.
ADAD calls on the UN Security Council to ensure the safety of ICTR defense teams; to undertake an independent investigation of the Mwaikuza murder; and, to re-establish the integrity of the Tribunal by fully disclosing evidence of crimes committed by both the former and current Rwandan government .
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Prof. Peter Erlinder
Wm. Mitchell College of Law
St. Paul, MN. USA
651-290-6384
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