Global Policy Forum

By Mary Kimani

Carla Del Ponte, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), on 9 July filed a notice of appeal against the acquittal of Ignace Bagilishema, a former mayor of Mabanza in Kibuye, western Rwanda. Bagilishema, 45, was acquitted on 7 June 2001. He had been accused of planning and orchestrating massacres of ethnic Tutsi in Mabanza commune and at a stadium in Kibuye Prefecture.

Internews could not establish whether the prosecutor's appeal notice was filed late. According to ICTR rules, an appeal must be filed with the registrar not more than 30 days after the judgment. The judgment must have been delivered in both English and French. Del Ponte's one-page notice was filed more than 30 days since the court read out the judgment in English. It is not clear when the French version of the judgment was delivered in writing to the concerned parties.

The judges of Trial Chamber I found that the prosecution had not proved its case "beyond reasonable doubt." A two-to-one majority made the acquittal decision, with Mehmet Guney of Turkey saying that he found sufficient evidence to convict Bagilishema of complicity in genocide. Immediately after the ruling, Florence Hartman, Del Ponte's Spokesperson, told the press that the team that prosecuted Bagilishema lost the case because it was weak and that the lead attorney had already been dismissed. Hartman confirmed that Del Ponte was confident of winning an appeal.

The prosecutor alleges in the appeal notice that the trial chamber erred in law and in fact in concluding that Bagilishema was not responsible for crimes committed at a roadblock near the Mabanza communal office. Del Ponte further claims the chamber erred by admitting the confession statements given to Rwanda authorities by three witnesses who are currently in jail in Rwanda. The witnesses contradicted these statements when they testified in court. The ICTR prosecutor also challenges the manner in which the chamber assessed the evidence concerning crimes committed at the roadblock and at the stadium in Kibuye.

Judges Erik Mose of Norway (presiding), Guney and Asoka de Zoysa Gunawardana of Sri Lanka heard the Bagilishema trial.

Kingsley Moghalu, ICTR Spokesperson, last Thursday told the press that Bagilishema remains a free man but did not indicate that an appeal had been filed.

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