REDRESS advocates for a quick and fair trial of 5 recent genocide suspects

The REDRESS welcomes the arrest of five men- Emmanuel Nteziryayo, Charles Munyaneza, Celestin Ugirashebuja, Vincent Bajinya and Celestin Mutabaruka.

Concerns remain about the ongoing delay in the delivery of justice in this case.“We welcome these arrests as a significant step towards ensuring accountability for those accused of the most egregious crimes under international law. It is imperative that these suspects no longer enjoy impunity.” Said Tara O’Leary, Universal Jurisdiction Coordinator at REDRESS.

In 2009, four of them were suspected but the UK High Court rejected the request and the men were released without charge or conditions. Since then, the four suspects have been living freely in the UK.REDRESS says that on this time the courts of UK must bring these men before the justice and judge them according to international law for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In this report they say that there is no reason to worry about Rwandan courts because since 2009, international courts have recognized that Rwanda has made progress in addressing fair trial concerns in the criminal justice system. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the European Court of Human Rights have approved, respectively, the transfer and extradition of genocide suspects for trial in Rwanda in recent years, triggering further successful extradition requests, for example Norway.

“Nowhere, including the UK ought to be a safe haven for those accused for the genocide and related international crimes. A denial of justice can exacerbate the horrors which survivors have endured and even more so when suspects have been identified and can be held accountable, but are seen to be going about their lives with impunity,”  said O’Leary.

Source: http://www.redress.org