02.12.06 - ICTR/MILITARY I - BAGOSORA’S ATTORNEY ASKS THE ICTR’S SPOKESMAN TO ISSUE A DENIAL

Arusha, November 30, 2006 (FH) - Raphael Constant who represents Col. Theoneste Bagosora, one of the most important accused on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has asked the registrar to disclaim the remarks of the Tribunal’s spokesman who had incriminated his client during a press conference. During this conference he held last Thursday, the Tribunal’s spokesman had clearly rejected the results of the investigation conducted by Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière published a couple of days earlier. He had notably insisted on the fact that the missiles had been shot from a hill occupied by the government forces and that those missiles were in the hands of the same government forces. In a letter he wrote last Friday, the attorney wondered that the Tribunal’s spokesperson has responded to a communique released by the Defense Attorneys’ Association and analyzed the upshot of this attack. According to Mr. Constant, Everard O’Donnel has spoken « in favor of the prosecution » while he « should remain neutral in that king of debate ». Moreover, the attorney also accused O’Donnell of having « given a personal interpretation to classified evidence » and of « having purely and simply distorted the elements resulting from the trial of his client ». He accused Mr. O’Donnel of « going beyond his role » and « feeding the media with false pieces of information or even pure lies ». The media services of the ICTR have refused to communicate on the topic this far. PB/MG Hirondelle News Agency