JURIST - Paper Chase: Rwanda genocide tribunal transfers fourth case to national courts

[JURIST] The Referral Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] on Tuesday transferred [decision, PDF; press release] the case of Ladislas Ntaganzwa [case materials] to the Rwandan national court system. Ntaganzwa, a former mayor of Nyakizu commune in Butare, remains at large. He has been charged [indictment, PDF] with conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva Conventions. The chamber expressed "its solemn hope that the Republic of Rwanda, in accepting referrals from this Tribunal, will acutalise in practice the commitments it has made about its good faith, capacity and willingness to enforce the highest standards of international justice in the referred cases."

Ntaganzwa's case is the fourth to be transferred to Rwandan national courts. Last month the court confirmed and proceeded with the transfer [JURIST report] of former Rwandan pastor Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi [case materials], making him the first ICTR genocide suspect to be transferred to a national court. Uwinkindi was charged in 2001 with genocide and crimes against humanity. In December, the ICTR upheld the decision to transfer [JURIST report] the case to a Rwandan court. The ICTR initially ordered the transfer [JURIST report] in June under Rule 11 bis, which authorizes the transfer of cases to appropriate national jurisdictions. Uwinkindi pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] in 2010. The other two transferred cases are against Fulgence Kayishema [case materials; JURIST report], a former police inspector, and Charles Sikubwabo [case materials], former Bourgmestre of Gishyita, Kibuye Prefecture. Both suspects remain at large.