Associated Press
November 22, 2004
A former senior Rwandan army officer pleaded innocent Monday before a UN tribunal to six counts of genocide and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Col. Ephrem Setako, 55, was arrested in Amsterdam on Feb. 25 and transferred to the Special UN Detention Facility in Arusha on Nov. 17.
The prosecution alleges Setako committed the crimes in concert with several other former senior Rwandan officers including Col. Theoneste Bagosora, who is alleged to have been a central figure in the killing of more than 500,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus during the genocide.
Setako is alleged to have distributed arms to members of the Rwanda Armed Forces, the Presidential Guard, the extremist Interahamwe militia and other armed groups who took part in the 100-day slaughter.
He will be tried separately from Bagosora and others under new prosecution rules aimed at speeding up trials at the tribunal. The trial of Bagosora and three other former senior Rwandan officers is already in progress.
Currently, 25 people are undergoing trial while 18 are waiting for their trials to start. Since the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was established in 1994, 19 people have been convicted and three acquitted.
More Information on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
