Genocide suspect, Jean Bosco Uwinkindi’s lawyer has filed an ‘extremely urgent’ motion appealing against the former’s transfer to Rwanda for trial.Uwinkindi is subject for transfer to Rwanda from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), at the request of the UN tribunal’s prosecutor. The Spokesman of the ICTR, Roland Amoussouga, confirmed that indeed Uwinkindi’s defence council intends to block his transfer.“Defence Counsel has filed today an extremely urgent motion for a stay of the Uwinkindi transfer to Rwanda. They also want to request for time to file a second motion for reconsideration of the decision of the December 16, 2011 on appeal against the return to Rwanda,” Amoussouga said. The latest decision about the referral process which was passed on April 6 averred that the suspect be brought to Rwanda within 15 days of the ruling, implying that he would be brought not later than this week. Sources close to the international court told The New Times that in the motion, Uwikindi’s defence council cited the recent incident in a case involving Victoire Ingabire, who decided to boycott the trial.“We have been served with the defence motion and I think the relevant authority at the ICTR will handle that. We note that there is extensive reliance on Ingabire’s behaviour in her case here,” said Rwandan Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga.He added: “We note that Ingabire’s defence lawyer doubles as defence lawyer for Uwinkindi. This makes us believe the timing of these two incidents is not accidental. This lawyer has been arguing lack of independence of judiciary in Rwanda in Uwinkindi case at the same time practising before our courts in Ingabire’s case.”The lawyer he was referring to is Englishman Ian Edwards, who has also said he would not return to court as Ingabire’s lawyer following her boycott.He said now the lawyer is getting to a point of picking pre-arranged incidents in one case to use it in another. “This is a very cheap game they are playing,” Ngoga said.Uwinkindi was a pastor of the Pentecostal Church in Kanzenze, Kigali-Rural préfecture during the 1994 Genocide. He is accused of unleashing militia on Tutsi refugees mainly members of his church.Once transferred to Rwanda, this will be the first ever transfer of an ICTR suspect to Rwanda.
