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Genocide suspects want inquiry into Rwandan Anglican bishop's death
Episcopal News Service
Issue:
Section:
2003-030-3
Posted: Thursday, February 13, 2003
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Forty-eight genocide suspects at the United Nations Detention Facility (UNDF) in Arusha, Tanzania, have asked the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to set up an independent commission of inquiry on the circumstances that led to the death of their colleague, Anglican bishop Samuel Musabyimana, on January 24 while in custody.
The 46-year-old Musabyimana was accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in connection with the killings of ethnic Tutsi refugees at his Shyogwe diocese in the central Rwandan province of Gitarama. The killings took place between April and July, 1994. The bishop was also accused of several other killings around the diocese. He denied all charges when he first appeared before the tribunal on May 2, 2001.
The press release issued by the ICTR the day Musabyimana died mentions that the former Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Shyogwe 'passed away after a long illness.'
In a letter dated January 27, addressed to the ICTR registrar, the inmates listed several allegations against the tribunal, including inefficiency in handling health and psychological problems of the bishop and the fact that he was denied a lawyer of his own choice to defend him. The signatories said Musabyimana was transferred to Nairobi (Kenya) twice for treatment and later was admitted to a hospital belonging to the Arusha International Conference Center (AICC) for one and a half months. They claimed that on January 13 he was taken back to the UNDF and alleged that such a decision denied him proper medical care and psychological attention. He was again sent back to AICC hospital and later to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) in Moshi for further treatment. 'If the doctors and the ICTR administration had not neglected him, the condition of the deceased would not have deteriorated,' the detainees stated in their letter.
ICTR spokesman Roland Amoussouga said that the tribunal did everything 'humanly possible' to save the life of the bishop, including taking him to different hospitals in Tanzania and Nairobi at his request. 'These are just allegations. The tribunal has done everything to treat the bishop. The facts are there to establish that,' said Amoussouga. He elaborated further that Musabyimana was even given a specialist to help him with psychological problems.
Responding to the issue of setting up a commission of inquiry, the spokesman said that a commission can be ordered by the president of the tribunal if a detainee dies while at the UNDF. He said the tribunal followed all the legal procedures about the issue and that if anyone was not satisfied there was a possibility of appealing the decision.
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