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Rwanda about to free suspects in the 1994 genocide |
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Friday, 17 January 2003 |
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Between 30,000 and 40,000 Rwandan prisoners, mostly suspects in the 1994 genocide, are to be freed on remand this month, in line with instructions from President Paul Kagame, justice minister Jean de Dieu Mucyo said Jan. 6.
The measure affects people, "almost all of whom confessed to taking part in the genocide and who were aged between 14 and 18 at the time, as well as those who are very old or seriously ill," he said, adding, "This is not an amnesty because these people will be tried while they are free." Rwandan prisons currently house some 115,000 people, 90 percent of whom are accused of having taken part in the 1994 orchestrated slaughter of up to a million Tutsis and Hutus opposed to the genocide. The release order will also benefit some minors and people accused of attempting to destabilize the country. |
