Michel Bagaragaza voluntarily surrendered to the ICTR in Arusha on 16 August 2005 as part of an “amicable arrangement” the terms of which the prosecution refused to disclose.
At his initial court appearance on 16 August 2005, Bagaragaza pleaded not guilty to the three counts with which he was indicted. The date for his trial was to be fixed at a later date.
According to an indictment dated 28 July 2005, Bagaragaza was accused of “conspiracy to commit genocide”, “genocide” or alternatively “complicity in genocide”
On 18 August 2005, Bagaragaza was transferred to the United Nations prison quarters of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, Netherlands, whilst awaiting judgement. The transfer was necessary due to security problems related to the decision by Bagaragaza to surrender to the Tribunal.
On 13 February 2006 the Prosecutor of the ICTR requested that the trial of Bagaragaza be transferred to Norway, to be judged there, in conformity with art. 11bis of the ICTR’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RoPE).
On 19 May 2006, the ICTR denied this request because Norway does not have a specific provision against genocide.
The ICTR Appeals Chamber rejected the Prosecutor's appeal against that decision at the end of August 2006.
On 12 December 2006, the Prosecutor filed a request for Michel Bagaragaza's case to be transferred to the authorities of the Netherlands in accordance with art. 11bis RoPE.
On 13 April 2007 the ICTR-Trial Chamber III accepted the transfer of the case.
This is the first time that the ICTR has authorized the transfer of an accused to a national jurisdiction. It was part of the "completion strategy" of the ICTR's mandate.
On 17 August 2007 the ICTR revoked its decision to refer the case, following a request by the tribunal's chief prosecutor, who had asked the tribunal to cancel the transfer a few days earlier. He made the request on the advice of the Netherlands' justice ministry, which had cast doubt on whether a national court could successfully carry out the trial. In another case involving a Rwandan, a court in The Hague -- the same that was to examine Bagaragaza's case – had previously concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to try the accused for genocide.
After the tribunal's decision to cancel the order, a new arrest warrant for Michel Bagaragaza was issued, whereby the ICTR requested the authorities of the Netherlands to arrest and transfer the accused to the tribunal.
On 20 May 2008, Bagaragaza was transferred back to Arusha from The Hague.
On 24 June 2008, Bagaragaza signed a confidential guilty plea agreement with the prosecutor.
Bagaragaza's trial is set to begin before the ICTR on 31 August 2009.
On 17 September 2009, Bagaragaza pleaded guilty for his roles in the massacres. Certain "character witnesses" will testify on 2 November 2009 in an attempt to gain the judges' mercy.
On 5 November 2009, Bagaragaza was sentenced to eight years jail for "complicity to commit genocide". The judge said that the ruling took into consideration the mitigating circumstances of the accused, including his voluntary surrender, guilty plea, co-operation with the Tribunal and remorse for his actions. He was sent to Sweden in July 2010 to complete his sentence.
On 24 Octobre 2011, Judge Khalida Rachid Khan, President of the ICTR, granted him early release after he served three-quarters of his sentence. The judge based her decision on the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) practice regarding release after three-quarters of a sentence served, on the fact that Bagaragaza confessed to crimes and expressed remorse and his good behaviour in jail.
It is the first time ever the ICTR grants early release; all the previous demands from other convicts were rejected.
Bagaragaza was released on 1 December 2011.
Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
