Hungry for Truth, Peace and Justice

Rwanda: Erlinder charged by same judge like Ingabire, and accomplices

By RNA Reporters
05 June 2010

Kigali : The judge handling the case of opposition politician Ingabire Victoure and her alleged three accomplices has charged a U.S. lawyer Peter Erlinder with denying 1994 Tutsi Genocide and publishing articles that threaten the country's security, RNA reports.

Peter Erlinder pleaded immediately not guilty to the charges during a five-hour court hearing late Friday.
"It is the first time I have come to know that my obscure publications back in America were that bad and could amount to genocide denial," Erlinder told the court. He suggested it may be a case of misinterpretation or misunderstanding.

If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison. Erlinder was upset when the judge said he will decide on Monday whether to grant bail. This means the supposedly sick controversial attorney will spend another weekend in custody.
Furious Erlinder said President Kagame's party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front, might dispute his writings, but "not all Rwandans."

He said he had ignored warnings from his tribunal colleagues not to travel to Rwanda, where he had spent several days helping opposition leader Victoire Ingabire in her presidential election challenge before his May 28 arrest.

"I believed the country has grown democratically, but if I am detained and prosecuted, my case will be confirm what is being said out there," Erlinder said.

Appearing weak in court, Erlinder asked to be granted bail so he could return home for treatment, and promised to comply with any conditions the court sets. Meanwhile, Ingabire was also in court Friday to attend Erlinder's hearing.

He said he hadn't been mistreated, but also had not had contact with anyone while in Rwandan custody.

"I haven't talked to anyone in my family, I haven't listened to the radio or watched TV since I was arrested. I haven't talked to my doctor," he said.

Judge Maurice Mbishibishi, who is also handling the Ingabire case, said he would decide Monday whether to grant bail.

Prosecutor Richard Muhumuza argued against it while investigation was ongoing, but agreed not to object if a medical examination determined Erlinder needed treatment in the United States. Muhumuza is also on the Ingabire case.

Authorities are considering a joint medical evaluation involving a doctor of Erlinder's choice, Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said, while rejecting a U.S. request made Thursday for the lawyer's release on compassionate and humanitarian grounds, The Associated Press reported.

"We are sensitive to medical and health conditions, whether it's for American citizens or others, but we cannot short circuit the legal process, so we stand advised by mental health professions on what needs to happen," Mushikiwabo said told a press conference Friday morning.

Erlinder was hospitalized Tuesday after police said he took up to 50 pills in an attempted suicide. Erlinder's family said it did not believe that.

She plans to vie for President Kagame’s job in the Aug. 9 elections, and had asked Erlinder for legal advice in defending herself against charges of promoting genocidal ideology.

After returning to Rwanda in January from the Netherlands, Ingabire had visited a memorial to Tutsis killed in the 1994 genocide and asked why Hutus who died weren't also remembered.

She was arrested and freed on bail, but her passport was seized and she cannot leave Kigali. If convicted, Ingabire, 41, could be sentenced to more than two decades in prison.

Ingabire’s alleged accomplices who are former FDLR rebels are also being handled by the same judge.

posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 1:04 PM