Trial of accused mastermind of Rwanda genocide adjourned until September

The United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda today adjourned until September the trial of the alleged mastermind behind the country's 1994 genocide one day after it began to give the prosecution and defence teams more time to ensure the case would proceed smoothly.

The judges in the trial of Col. Theoneste Bagosora and three other high-ranking military officers at the Arusha-based UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) made their decision in a closed session today after defence attorneys had argued on Tuesday they did not received the trial briefs from the prosecution in time and in both English and French, the Tribunal's official languages.

The four accused - Col. Bagosora, Lt. Col. Anatole Nsengiyumva, Maj. Aloys Ntabakuze and Brig. Gen. Gratien Kabiligi - did not appear in court when the trial began yesterday, claiming their human rights were being violated because they did not receive the translations.

They are charged in the joint trial with at least 10 counts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, crimes against humanity for murder, extermination, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts.