The lawyers of Félicien Kabuga, accused of being the “financier” of the Rwandan genocide, announced on Sunday that they have seized the rights defender Jacques Toubon to denounce what they consider as “attacks on his fundamental rights” since his arrest on Saturday 16 may.
Me Laurent Bayon and Me Nejma Labidi ask Jacques Toubon to intervene on the “double dysfunction” of Justice “which infringes the fundamental rights of Félicien Kabuga”.
The Rwandan businessman, who said he wanted to "be tried in France", must appear again on May 27 before the investigative chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal.
A hearing which comes after a first appearance Wednesday May 20 during which his lawyers obtained a deadline to be able to prepare his defense. "Despite numerous reminders on Sunday [...], we still do not have a copy of the documents of the proceedings", denounce the lawyers.
"Breach of the presumption of innocence"
This hearing should make it possible to examine the validity of the arrest warrant issued by the Mechanism of International Criminal Courts (MTPI) - the structure responsible for completing the work of the former International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) sitting at Arusha, in the north of Tanzania - then issue an opinion, favorable or not, on his surrender.
Aged 84, Félicien Kabuga, who resided in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine) under a false identity, is notably accused of having created the Interahamwe militias, the main armed arms of the 1994 genocide which caused 800,000 dead according to the UN.
The lawyers also announced Friday a subpoena against the French State for "attack on the presumption of innocence", following a press release of May 16 from the General Prosecutor's Office of Paris and the Central Office for the fight against crimes against humanity (OCLCH) announcing the arrest of Félicien Kabuga.
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The lawyers dispute the qualification of their client in this press release as "one of the main Rwandan genocidaires".
An application for release
In their referral to Jacques Toubon on Sunday, the lawyers ensure that their request “has still not been examined” despite “the urgency […] to put an end to this manifest attack on the presumption of innocence” of a man who “ denies any participation in the genocide ”. "A date will be given to these lawyers on Monday. This is the practice for everyone, ”replied the Paris Court of Justice.
The two lawyers also filed Friday a request for release of Félicien Kabuga, imprisoned in the Parisian remand center of Health, in the name of "his age and his particularly fragile health".
It will be examined Wednesday by the investigative chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal, announced Me Bayon.
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