ICC Arusha

Monday morning I sat in on the one of the courts for International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and heard a woman talk about the genocide. She testified that one of her family members had convinced a group of Tutsi's to come out after a week of hiding because peace had been restored. When she and the others came out and registered the men were immediately killed by machete's and clubs. The ones that had any money paid soldiers to shoot them so they would die by gunshot instead. The women and children were rounded up and handed over to armed soldiers who gang raped the women repeatedly. It was heartbreaking to hear her testimony, especially as it was continually interrupted by objections from the defense. The prosecuter asked for a closed courtroom because she was going to name people who would know her identity and it could be dangerous for her as they were out of prison. After strenuous objections from the defense it was eventually granted by the judges and I had to leave.

This morning I went back for a couple of hours before my flight left Arusha. I met Lincoln, a reseacher from NY, who saw the initial cross-examination yesterday after I had left. He told me the defense had really been badgering the witness, especially about inconsistencies in the French and English statements she signed. The witness spoke Kinyarwandan, and couldn't read or write: how she was expected to spot inconsistencies in two languages she didn't speak when she is illiterate is beyond me. Today the defense continued to berate the witness, calling her a liar and at times yelling at her. I know it's their job, but it was very frustrating to watch the defense attorney's treatment of the witness. I felt that most of the questions the lawyers asked the witness were designed to be misleading. My overall impression of watching (admittedly very little of) the trial, was that justice really fails the poor and uneducated.