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27 March 2000

Text: Rubin on International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

(Will determine guilt or innocence of Elizaphan Ntakirutimana) (460)
"It is the role of the ICTR, not the United States, to adjudicate the
guilt or innocence of Elizaphan Ntakirutimana" -- who is in detention
in Arusha, Tanzania, where he is to stand trial before the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for his alleged role
in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, the U.S. State Department
announced.
In a written statement released to the press March 24, State
Department Spokesman James Rubin said Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright signed the surrender warrant authorizing Ntakirutimana's
extradition from the United States to the ICTR on March 2.
"It is the role of the ICTR, not the United States," Rubin explained
in the statement, "to adjudicate Mr. Ntakirutimana's guilt or
innocence. The ICTR is capable of affording him a fair trial."
Following is the text of Rubin's statement:
(begin text)
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
March 24, 2000
STATEMENT BY JAMES P. RUBIN, SPOKESMAN
Secretary of State Signs Surrender Warrant
Elizaphan Ntakirutimana is in detention in Arusha, Tanzania, where he
is to stand trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda (ICTR) for his alleged role in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright signed the surrender warrant
authorizing his extradition to the ICTR on March 2.
The ICTR had requested the surrender of Mr. Ntakirutimana, who is
charged with the crimes of genocide and other serious violations of
international humanitarian law. In response to that request, the
United States, in accordance with normal extradition practice, filed a
complaint in the Southern District of Texas seeking a judicial finding
that Mr. Ntakirutimana was extraditable. After extensive litigation,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district
court's decision that the legislation authorizing extradition to the
ICTR is constitutional and that the evidence established probable
cause for the charges against Mr. Ntakirutimana. The Supreme Court
declined to review the Fifth Circuit's decision.
It is the role of the ICTR, not the United States, to adjudicate Mr.
Ntakirutimana's guilt or innocence. The ICTR is capable of affording
him a fair trial. Under ICTR rules, the accused is entitled to present
a vigorous defense and is protected by safeguards designed to ensure
fairness, including: the right to a public hearing, a presumption of
innocence, the right to counsel, and the right to examine witnesses.
The United States supports the ICTR and the important role it fulfills
in the aftermath of the genocide and other terrible events in Rwanda
in 1994.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)