Arusha, March 2, 2006 (FH) - The hearing of the defence case of Arsène Shalom Ntahobali, an alleged militia leader during the 1994 genocide, was suspended indefinitely on Thursday following allegations by the defendant that the bench was “partial”.

Ntahobali was ordered a few weeks ago by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to start testifying on his own behalf from March 2, if he so wished.

The judges rejected a defence motion demanding that the suspect testify last, after all the other witnesses.

Ntahobali is standing trial with five other suspects from Butare prefecture, South Rwanda, including his mother and former Rwandan gender minister, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko. He still has three witnesses to go, including himself, before he winds up his defence case.

Canadian lawyer Normand Marquis, lead counsel for Ntahobali, told the Chamber that his team has addressed a motion to an organ of the tribunal known as the Bureau - comprising the president and vice-president of the ICTR and each of the heads of chambers. The presiding judge William Sekule and judge Arlette Ramaroson, who is vice-president of the tribunal, will not be able to be part of the “Bureau” making the decision on the defence motion to disqualify the sitting bench because of “partiality”. Marquis argued that the rights of his client had been breached and that “he is not ready to testify on his own behalf” in such conditions.

“I ask you to suspend his testimony until the motion filed with the Bureau is decided upon”, he told the Chamber presided over by Judge Sekule of Tanzania, with . judge Ramaroson of Madagascar and Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda.

The prosecution on its side objected the defence motion, saying, “the move was just the defence pretext to disrupt and delay court’s proceedings”.

Ntahobali who started his defence case last November has so far called 21 witnesses including his wife Beatrice Munyenyezi.

Other defendants in this case are two former Butare prefects, Sylvain Nsabimana and Alphonse Nteziryayo and two former mayors, Joseph Kanyabashi of Ngoma commune and that of Muganza, Elie Ndayambaje. This trial commenced on June 12, 2001.

NI/AT