Genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga will appear before the court for the first time on Wednesday, November 11, in The Hague, Netherlands, at 3 p.m. CAT. This was announced by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) on Monday, November 9. According to a statement by the presiding judge of the Trial Chamber of the Mechanism, Iain Bonomy who is also the pre-trial judge, in this case, Kabuga is allowed “to either participate in the initial appearance in-person in the Courtroom of the Hague Branch of the Mechanism or via video-teleconference”. Kabuga is currently in the custody of the Mechanism in The Hague since October 26 when he was transferred from France. Initially, the French Court of Appeal had ruled that Kabuga be transferred to Arusha, as had earlier been ruled by a judge at the Mechanism, before the suspect put in a request to be tried at The Hague, citing his advanced age and many medical conditions that require what he called “comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and intensive care and stresses.” The alleged genocide architect was arrested in May by French authorities on an international warrant for crimes related to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi after 26 years on the run. Kabuga was indicted on seven counts of genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, attempt to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, persecution and extermination, all in relation to crimes committed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, in Rwanda.
