On Friday, November 6, the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court resolved to adjourn the appeal hearing of Paul Rusesabagina to next week, November 10. The reason for this was that Rusesabagina had none of his lawyers present during the hearing that was held online, with him at the Nyarugenge Prison. The suspect said that his two lawyers who have been with him right from the time he was presented to the media by Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), have been recalled by Rwanda Bar Association, which brings together all practicing lawyers in the country. The two lawyers, David Rugaza and Emeline Nyembo were recalled by the bar which had appointed them to represent the suspect pro bono (for free) basing on the principle of indigence. His third lawyer, Gatera Gashabana, is expected to be available next week. Speaking to The New Times on Friday, Julien-Gustave Kavaruganda, the President of Rwanda Bar Association said that the two lawyers were withdrawn because Rusesabagina was no longer eligible for legal aid. He said: “We had assigned Rusesabigina the two lawyers from the association as a legal aid on the basis of indigence, which is afforded to any one with no means to afford his own legal representatives. However, he later told us that there were more two lawyers he had paid to also help him in the case.” One of the two lawyers hired by Rusesabagina is Gashabana. “For this reason, there were no reasons to continue helping someone who has means to pay lawyers when there are people who are in need of legal assistance. Nonetheless, he can still contact the recalled lawyers in case he will pay them for their services, he added. The New Times has learnt that in addition to Gashabana who is a member of Rwanda Bar Association, Rusesabagina had also contracted Vincent Lurquin, a Belgian lawyer an attorney attached to the Brussels Bar Association. However, reports indicate that Lurquin’s accreditation to practice in Rwanda is likely to be complicated by the fact that Rwanda Bar Association does not have a reciprocal arrangement with their Brussels counterpart, which is a requirement. Normally, for a defendant to benefit from legal aid, paid by the Rwandan government, they have to present a certificate of indigence, showing that they are in the lower category of ‘Ubudehe’ (eligible for social welfare in Rwanda) and can therefore not afford a lawyer. Rusesabagina is currently seeking to challenge a decision that was taken by the Kicukiro Primary Court last month to remand him for an additional 30 days as had been requested by the prosecution. Nyarugenge Intermediate Court ruled that the case will resume next week on November 10, with the judge ruling that Rusesabagina should by then have consulted with his new lawyer and read to present his case. Rusesabagina faces several charges including terrorism, financing terrorism, recruiting child soldiers, kidnapping, arson, and forming terror groups, among others. The crimes he is accused of were mostly committed by FLN, an armed group that was founded by MRCD, a group that has Rusesabagina as founding president. According to prosecution, the additional 30 days will be used to interview survivors of FLN attacks who are located in Nyaruguru, Nyamagabe and Rusizi, and among others gather additional evidence against the suspect. At least nine people were killed during the attacks. Rusesabagina has previously told court that he sent funds and helped fundraise for FLN.
