Jean Bosco Barayagwiza
Encyclopedia
Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza was a Rwandan diplomat and the chairman of the executive committee for the Rwandan radio station Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines
from 1993 and during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
.
He was charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
on October 23, 2000 along with co-leader Ferdinand Nahimana
and Hassan Ngeze
, director and editor of the Kangura newspaper. Mr. Barayagwiza was initially defended by Canadian lawyer Mrs. Marchessault and American lawyer Mr. Danielson. When the two lawyers withdrew, Mr. Barayagwiza was defended throughout the trial, up to the sentence of first instance, by the Italian lawyer Giacomo Barletta Caldarera, so far the only Italian lawyer to have acted as defense counsel in a UN International Tribunal. Barayagwiza refused to partake in the trial, claiming that the judges were not impartial.
After his conviction on December 3, 2003 to 35 years imprisonment (he was sentenced to 27 years, given his time already spent in captivity), he announced that he was appealing the sentence. He was assigned Donald Herbert and Tanoo Mylvaganam as a new defence counsel on November 30, 2004. Mr. Alfred Pognon was called as “adjoint” defense counsel to Mr. Barletta Caldarera. His most recent appeal was rejected by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
on June 22, 2009.
He died on 25 April 2010 at 6h22 in Cotonou (Republic of Benin) due to an advanced case of Hepatitis C. It has been reported by his family that he was denied adequate treatment.
Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines
Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines was a Rwandan radio station which broadcast from July 8, 1993 to July 31, 1994. It played a significant role during the April–July 1994 Rwandan Genocide....
from 1993 and during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
.
He was charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
on October 23, 2000 along with co-leader Ferdinand Nahimana
Ferdinand Nahimana
Ferdinand Nahimana is a Rwandan historian who was convicted of participating in the Rwandan Genocide.Nahimana was co-founder of the radio station Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines but not the director, which during the genocide broadcast information and propaganda that helped coordinate...
and Hassan Ngeze
Hassan Ngeze
Hassan Ngeze is a Rwandan journalist, best known for publishing the "Hutu Ten Commandments", which fomented anti-Tutsi feeling among Rwandan Hutus prior to the Rwandan Genocide....
, director and editor of the Kangura newspaper. Mr. Barayagwiza was initially defended by Canadian lawyer Mrs. Marchessault and American lawyer Mr. Danielson. When the two lawyers withdrew, Mr. Barayagwiza was defended throughout the trial, up to the sentence of first instance, by the Italian lawyer Giacomo Barletta Caldarera, so far the only Italian lawyer to have acted as defense counsel in a UN International Tribunal. Barayagwiza refused to partake in the trial, claiming that the judges were not impartial.
After his conviction on December 3, 2003 to 35 years imprisonment (he was sentenced to 27 years, given his time already spent in captivity), he announced that he was appealing the sentence. He was assigned Donald Herbert and Tanoo Mylvaganam as a new defence counsel on November 30, 2004. Mr. Alfred Pognon was called as “adjoint” defense counsel to Mr. Barletta Caldarera. His most recent appeal was rejected by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
on June 22, 2009.
He died on 25 April 2010 at 6h22 in Cotonou (Republic of Benin) due to an advanced case of Hepatitis C. It has been reported by his family that he was denied adequate treatment.