Letter to Mr. Hassan Bubacar Jallow
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Letter to Mr. Hassan Bubacar Jallow, The Prosecutor International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Arusha, Tanzania
Dear Mr. Jallow, We are writing to express to you the profound bitterness and anger with which we have learned of the 16 November 2009 decision by the ICTR Appeals Chamber to overturn the conviction of Mr. Protais Zigiranyirazo, alias “Mister Z”.
We completely disagree with this astonishing decision to acquit Mr. Zigiranyirazo given the fact that, as highlighted by Eric Gillet, an FIDH lawyer (quoted in La Libre Belgique of 19 November 2009), “Mister Z was a key member of the Akazu which historians consider to have constituted the hardcore of the Genocide’s planners. It is for his part in that group’s actions that he should really have been tried.” Be that as it may, in the face of this unconscionable decision, all those who are familiar with the role played by “Mister Z” and the power he wielded in Rwanda – both before and during the Genocide – are understandably under great shock.
As it seems to be based on as tainted and flimsy considerations as those the Appeals Chamber in turn imputes to the Trial Chamber which originally convicted him, Protais Zigiranyirazo’s acquittal represents a grave setback for the ICTR. As such, it is to be feared that one of its fatal consequences could be that, for years to come, this decision may put paid to the illusions of those who might have continued to believe in international justice. In order to end the impunity of the perpetrators of some of the most heinous crimes against humanity, we demand that, in accordance with your powers under article 17 of the ICTR Statute - and more particularly those defined under Parts 4 to 8 and Rules 120 to 123 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, you act with dispatch and determination to submit a request for a review of its decision to the Chamber which has acquitted Protais Zigiranyirazo. To fail to do so will not only destroy the perception of legitimacy and justness of the ICTR in the eyes of the survivors of the 1994 Genocide of the Tutsi of Rwanda, but equally among those who believe and fight for an impartial justice. We thank you in advance for the attention we hope you will pay to this critical question.
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