Rwanda Tribunal defends 1 US lawyer, but another American now faces contempt charge
By APWednesday, June 16, 2010
US lawyer faces contempt charge at Rwanda Tribunal
NAIROBI, Kenya — An American lawyer says the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has initiated contempt proceedings against him after he tried to postpone a trial earlier this month.
Peter Robinson says he feared facing the same charges another U.S. lawyer, Peter Erlinder, faced after being arrested in Rwanda on charges of denying the country’s 1994 genocide. The ICTR on Tuesday defended Erlinder, saying he should not be charged because he was defending clients in court when making the statements that led to his arrest.
Robinson is expected to be at court in the ICTR, based in Arusha, Tanzania, next Monday. He said Wednesday from The Hague that he hasn’t yet decided if he will continue with his client’s case.
The U.N. set up the ICTR in 1994 to try the masterminds of the Rwanda genocide that year.
