Court has postponed to next week the pre-trial hearing of Jean-Paul Micomyiza, a genocide suspect who was recently extradited from Sweden, at the request of Rwanda. Micomyiza was on Wednesday May 11, presented before Kicukiro Primary Court, the first time he was presented before court since his extradition on April 27. He faces five charges including murder, complicity to commit genocide, rape, causing permanent injuries and crimes against humanity. All these crimes were committed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Micomyiza, 49, arrived at Kicukiro Primary Court at around 10:30am amidst tight security. He was clad in all black; pants and shirt and shoes. The case was called for mention at around 11am and the suspect was accompanied by his three lawyers. After reading his identity and outlining the crimes he is being accused of by the prosecution, the judge gave Micomyiza and the lawyer time to present their defence. However, they requested five days to examine his dossier arguing that one of them accessed the indictment late at night while others have not yet connected to the system so that they will be able to access and go through it. The presiding judge resolved to adjourn the trial so that the suspect and his lawyers get enough time to examine his dossier as well the issue of accessing the document in the system should be settled also. The development followed the decision government of Sweden took to give the green light to the extradition of Micomyiza, to Rwanda where he is accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. During the Genocide committed against Tutsi in 1994, Micomyiza was a second-year student at the then National University of Rwanda, in the Faculty of Applied Sciences. As a university student, he was also a member of a committee called Comité de Crise that was instrumental in committing the Genocide.
