Rwandan authorities have arrested five people for allegedly trying to bribe and intimidate witnesses in a high-profile genocide case.
Contempt of court warrants for Maximilien Turinabo, Anselme Nzabonimpa, Jean de Dieu Ndagijimana, Marie Rose Fatuma and Dick Prudence Munyeshuli were issued under seal on August 24, and they were arrested earlier this week.
The court said in a statement that the five had offered bribes and exerted pressure to influence the evidence of protected witnesses in the case of Augustin Ngirabatware, a former Rwanda government minister whose appeal against a 30-year sentence is due to be heard later this month.
The UN’s International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals has, since 2010, handled outstanding and ongoing cases from the 1994 genocide that killed around 800,000 people.
The five accused are due to be transferred to the court’s branch in Arusha, Tanzania.
