Appeals Chamber for Rwanda Tribunal Rules Against Transfer to Norway

On August 30, 2006, the Appeals Chamber for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda affirmed the Trial Chamber’s denial of the Prosecution’s request to refer the case against Michel Bagaragaza to Norway. In July 2005 the Trial Chamber had upheld Bagaragaza’s indictment on three counts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and, in the alternative, complicity in genocide. In August 2005, Bagaragaza voluntarily surrendered to Tribunal authorities in Arusha, Tanzania, pleading not guilty to all charges. He was immediately transferred to the Detention Unit of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (UNDU and ICTY, respectively) in The Hague for one year. The Prosecution requested these special measures due to the security risks Bagaragaza faced in Arusha as a result of his agreement to testify as a Prosecution witness and to assist in the investigations of other accused ... [more]