The Rwandan government has blasted the Arusha-based UN court trying the 1994 genocide suspects for introducing conjugal visits for the detainees, describing the move “as ridiculous and a mockery of the justice process”.
“Many people in Rwanda consider this as very ridiculous. I don’t know what kind of legacy the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is trying to leave,” said Martin Ngoga, Rwanda’s prosecutor general.
Ngoga was quoted by the Hirondelle Agency as saying the move was “contextually misplaced” and may jeopardise the tribunal’s credibility. Rwanda does not allow conjugal visits for prisoners.
The decision comes just one year before the UN court closes as directed by the Security Council.
The tribunal spokesman, Roland Amoussouga, said the move was part of efforts to harmonise policy with its sister tribunal in the ex-Yugoslavia.
There are a total of 56 detainees at the special detention facility, including 18 convicted persons.
According to Amoussouga, the shift had been under consideration since 2005 when the court denied convict Hassan Ngeze, ex-editor of Kangura newspaper, the right to get married at the ICTR premises.
He cautioned that the conjugal visits must be exercised within set regulations and any violation would mean automatic cancellation of the offer.
The tribunal said any detained person was presumed innocent unless proven otherwise.
