L- R: Callixte Nsabimana, Paul Rusesabagina, Herman Nsengimana
A joint terrorism case trial involving Hotel Rwanda film ‘hero’ and two former spokespersons of National Forces for Liberation (FLN) will be live-streamed for the public to follow, officials have said.
The joint trial will involve Paul Rusesabagina and FLN former spokesmen Callixte Nsabimana and Herman Nsengimana, along with other 17 FLN recruits who were arrested last year.
The case set to take place this Wednesday, February 17, 2021 was earlier supposed to be held virtually on January 26, 2021 but was postponed due to Covid-19 challenges where defense teams said they were not able to meet with the suspects.
The case to be tried by the High Court Chamber for International Crimes, based in Nyanza district, Southern Province will take place in the premises of the Supreme court for the purpose of allowing the public to follow.
All the suspects in this case face similar charges of terrorism attacks on Rwandan soil, arson, murder and formation of illegal armed groups among others.
“All the accused, prosecution and defense teams will appear in person at 8.30am on Wednesday at the Supreme court premises which will be used for the purpose of the trial,” Mutabazi said.
To ensure the trial premises are safe for the court and participants, Mutabazi said that all standard operation procedures in preventing COVID-19 infections will be strictly observed but there will be a live stream for the public who cannot attend in person.
“We are planning on a live streaming of the case to avoid attendance in big numbers that can lead to more COVID-19 infections. The link to the live court trial will be shared as soon as possible,” the Judicial Spokesperson said.
Other suspects in the FLN case include Félicien Nsanzubukire (also known as Fred Irakiza), Anastase Munyaneza, and Jean-Chrétien Ndagijimana, who is a son of the late FLN commander Laurent Ndagijimana, also known as Wilson Irategeka.
Other suspects were mainly arrested in different operations in DRC between 2018 and 2019.
