[Published: Tuesday June 08 2010]
US genocide lawyer denied bail in Rwanda
Kigali, 08 June-(ANA)-A judge in Rwanda has refused bail to a US lawyer charged with denying the 1994 genocide and publishing articles threatening Rwanda's security.
Peter Erlinder arrived in Rwanda last month to help defend opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza on charges of promoting genocide ideology.
The US has called on the Rwandan authorities to release Mr Erlinder, who has denied all the charges.
The genocide claimed the lives of about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Mr Erlinder is the lead defence counsel for top genocide suspects at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania.
After the bail hearing, Rwanda's justice minister said the prosecution was not a "political tactic".
"It is an act of justice," Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement. (ANA)
FA/ANA/08 June 2010-------- |