Judges from Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) yesterday started their one week tour of sites in the country where four former ministers are reported to have committed genocide and crimes against humanity in the 1994 Tutsi Genocide.

The accused in this joint trial are: Casimir Bizimungu, former minister of Health, Justin Mugenzi, former minister for Commerce, Prosper Mugiraneza, former  minister for Civil Service and Jerome Bicamumpaka, former minister for Foreign Affairs. All have pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them. The hearing of the case started in November, 2003.

According to the programme, the delegation includes three Bench Judges led by its President Khalida Khan, the prosecution, and the defence teams.

A total of 23 sites are expected to be visited during the week, and these include Kigali Memorial Centre, Kabuga and Kibungo centres in the Eastern Province, Gitarama in the Southern Province and Gisenyi.

The three Trial Chambers and the Appeals Chamber of the ICTR are composed of judges elected by the UN General Assembly from a list submitted by the Security Council.
They are initially selected from a list of nominees submitted by member states of the United Nations.

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