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| |  | | Désiré Munyaneza | | | context : | Rwanda  | | judgement place : | Canada | | status : | On trial | | particulars : | Trial started in Montreal, Canada, on 26 March 2007; resumed on 4 September 2007 | | position : | Shopkeeper in Butare |
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| | | | Munyaneza was living in Toronto when he was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on 19 October 2005.
The RCMP said the arrest followed a five-year investigation by the war crimes unit that included interviews with many witnesses in Rwanda, Europe and Canada.
Désiré Munyaneza faces seven charges under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, including two counts of genocide, two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes. The indictment accuses him of committing murder, psychological terror, physical attacks and sexual violence with intent to wiping out the Tutsi.
The Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act was adopted in 2000 to implement Canada's obligations with respect to the ICC and to provide for the prosecution of international crimes before Canadian courts. The arrest of Mr. Munyaneza represents the first time the Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act has been used to criminally charge an individual. It is also the first time since the Supreme Court's decision in the Finta case (see Trial Watch profile) of 1994 that Canadian authorities have used criminal rather than immigration remedies in the face of alleged international crimes.
A delegation of prosecutors, defence attorneys and a judge of Montreal arrived in Rwanda on 12 January 2007 for five weeks of hearings to gather testimony from 14 witnesses unable to travel to Canada. This evidence was to be introduced at the trial in Montreal, which began on 26 March 2007. More than 20 further witnesses were expected to testify.
According to press reports, Munyaneza, who has been in custody for two years, was severely beaten in prison in spring 2007. The prison warden severely curtailed Munyaneza's contact with others, including his wife.
After a summer break, the trial resumed on 4 September 2007. | |    | | Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty. | |  |  | | last time seen : | | | Montréal, Canada | | | period of charges : | | | 01.04.1994 - 31.07.1994 | | | judgement period : | | | 03.2007 | | | charges : | | | Crimes against humanity
Genocide
War crimes | | | profile last modified : | | | 26.07.2008 |
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