NAIROBI, 24 Jan 2003 (IRIN) - Bishop Samuel Musabyimana, a genocide
suspect who was awaiting trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, died on Friday.
The tribunal announced that Musabyimana died at the Kilimanjaro Christian
Medical Centre in Moshi "after a long illness". He is a former Anglican bishop
of the diocese of Shyogwe in Rwanda. He becomes the first accused person
to die in ICTR detention.
Musabyimana, 47, was arrested in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 26 April
2001. He appeared before the UN court on 2 May 2001 and pleaded not
guilty to four counts, including genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and
crimes against humanity.
The ICTR said Musabyimana's close family members were with him during his
illness.
The UN Security Council established the ICTR in 1995 to try the alleged
perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which claimed some 800,000
lives. Since its inception, the court has handed down nine judgments - eight
convictions and an acquittal.
