Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

Erlinder’s arrest: justice or politics?

While the arrest of US lawyer Peter Erlinder in Rwanda for genocide denial three weeks ago has sparked international outcry, Kigali stands by its actions and denies that it is acting on political grounds.

By Emmanuel Munyarukumbuzi, Kigali
Radio Netherlands Worldwide
June 16, 2010

“There has been a lot of theatrics surrounding this case, but genocide ideology laws are not about politics or symbolism, and revisionists and ideologues who traffic in genocide denial will be prosecuted and imprisoned,” says Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo.


Peter Erlinder, who is one of the defence lawyers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), is the first foreigner accused under Rwanda’s 2008 genocide ideology law.

After the arrest, Rwandan police spokesman Eric Kayingare, said that Erlinder was accused of “denying the genocide” and “negationism” from statements he had made at the ICTR, as well as “in his books, in publications,” as quoted by the New York Times.

Erlinder, a law professor at the US’ William Mitchell College of Law, was detained on May 28 as he came to Rwanda to defend opposition presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire, head of the United Democratic Forces movement. She was arrested in April under accusations of genocide denial and belonging to a terrorist organisation .

Many have protested Erlinder’s arrest. The US had joined in on calls for his release on compassionate grounds because he had complained of panic attacks and heart problems that required treatment at home.

A Rwandan court last week refused Erlinder’s request to be released on bail based on his poor health. Erlinder faces a minimum jail sentence of ten years.

The International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association (ICDAA) has condemned Erlinder’s arrest.

“Professor Erlinder’s arrest is an attack on the freedom of speech and a politically motivated attempt to further frustrate the democratic process in Rwanda,” said Allison Turner, an executive member of the International Criminal Bar, during the International Criminal Court Conference in Kampala last week.

Defence lawyers working on cases at the ICTR have threatened to stop their work, pointing out that Erlinder had been arrested for statements he had made at the tribunal.

Some 30 lawyers have signed a general petition saying they plan not to work unless their security can be guaranteed.

One of them, Peter Robinson, told the ICTR in a letter last week that based on Erlinder’s arrest, lawyers working on similar cases are “at risk for prosecution in Rwanda for genocide and negationism and a threat to national security.”

Robinson further said that this was “an unacceptable risk” for him. The ICTR has since charged Robinson with contempt of court for refusing to continue with his case at the court.

Minister Mushikiwabo contends that Erlinder’s detention has nothing to do with his job as an ICTR defence lawyer.

“It is about his role as a denier, propagator and mobiliser of people who diminish, distort, deny the extermination of a million Tutsi of this country”.

She added that the government understands that ICTR lawyers “have a job to do,” and that Kigali has facilitated them in doing their job. “We believe the ICTR work will go on,” Mushikiwabo said.

ICTR spokesperson Roland Amoussouga said the Rwandan government had assured the court that Erlinder’s arrest “is not related to ICTR business.”

“We are following this matter very closely,” Amoussouga says. “We shall continue monitoring any developments, and we shall protect the rights of the defense counsel if such rights happen to be threatened.”

Amoussouga points out that the court has to be “very careful.”

“Rwanda has its own law and its own processes. If they charge someone for violations of their law we have to be very attentive to see whether the charge against that lawyer are not related to the work that he has done under the curfew of the ICTR,” he said.

posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 12:04 AM