Glimmer of hope for St. Paul prof held in Rwanda

The Rwandan government said Friday it will not free jailed law Prof. Peter Erlinder, but family members were told that a judge might issue a decision on Monday.

By KEVIN DIAZ, BOB VON STERNBERG and RANDY FURST
Star Tribune staff writers
June 4, 2010

The Rwandan government said Friday it will not free jailed law Prof. Peter Erlinder, despite growing international pressure, but family members were told that a judge might issue a decision in the case on Monday.

Erlinder appeared at a court hearing Friday outside Kigali, the Rwandan capital, where he and his lawyers asked for his release.

"It appears Peter's going to be in custody all weekend, which he's not going to be very happy about," said Gena Berglund, Erlinder's legal assistant at the International Humanitarian Law Institute of Minnesota in St. Paul. "This is weekend number two now."

She said Erlinder was required to stand throughout the 3 1/2-hour hearing, even though he has been hospitalized twice in the past week, while the Rwandan judge sat, and the prosecutor could sit when he was not speaking.

Meanwhile, Sarah Erlinder, the professor's daughter, said Friday she had a "very positive" meeting with a Rwandan embassy official.

"He said that genocide is a very sensitive topic in Rwanda, and that they have their laws," Sarah Erlinder said. "I said I understand that, but that my concern is with my dad's health and safety."

Also on Friday, Erlinder's wife, Masako Usui, met with U.N. officials in New York to increase pressure for his release.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo told reporters in Kigali on Friday that lawyers for Erlinder have argued that he was mentally disturbed and that his health condition could deteriorate in custody, according to the Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper.

But despite a U.S. request for his release, Mushikiwabo said Erlinder's mental state will have to be proved by medical experts in Rwanda. She was quoted as saying, "Rwanda is sensitive to medical conditions, but we are proposing a joint medical evaluation by our own doctors and the doctor of his [lawyer's] choice. This team will advise the prosecution accordingly.