The trial of the first senior military figures to appear before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on genocide charges has been adjourned at least until late June.
Tribunal spokesman Bocar Sy tells V-O-A the court in Arusha, Tanzania, adjourned (Wednesday) to allow for the translation into French of court documents the defense wants to study. Mr. Sy adds that the parties will meet June 26th to decide whether the trial can resume.
During Tuesday's opening session, defense attorneys had complained that the prosecution had not delivered French-language translations of documents related to the case. The four defendants, who have all denied the charges, boycotted Tuesday's proceedings, refusing to leave their cells.
Colonel Theoneste Bagosora and three co-defendants face charges of leading the 1994 genocide against Rwanda's ethnic Tutsi minority and politically moderate Hutus. "The other defendants are Former senior officers Anatole Nsengiyumva, Aloys Ntabakuze and Gratien Kabiligi".
The four men are accused of drawing up blacklists, training militias and distributing weapons for use against Tutsis. The three months of killings claimed as many as 800-thousand lives before ethnic Tutsi rebels overthrew Rwanda's then-Hutu leadership.
(ICTR phoner, AP)