ARUSHA, Tanzania (INTERNEWS)--The Appeals Court of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Monday 23rd May, 2005 set aside a life sentence of a former Rwandan Mayor convicted for his role in the 1994 genocide, and instead gave him a 45 years jail sentence.

Fifty-four-year old Juvenal Kajelijeli, a former mayor of Mukingo Commune, Ruhengeri, northern Rwanda, was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 but he challenged the verdict.

Presiding Judge Fausto Pocar said that the appeals chamber concluded that the appellant s fundamental rights were violated during his arrest and detention in Benin.

He noted that the accused was wrongly detained for a total of 306 days in Benin and the UNDF and was not promptly informed of the reasons for his arrest or of the provisional charges against him.

The judge stated: In view of the serious violations of the appellant s fundamental rights during his arrest and detention in Benin and the UNDF from 5 June 1998 to 6 April 1998, and considering the appellant s entitlement to an effective remedy, the appellant s two life sentences and 15 years sentences as imposed by the trial chamber shall be set aside and converted into a single sentence consisting of a fixed term of imprisonment of 45years.

He added that Kajelijeli would get a credit for the period already served in detention.

The ICTR Prosecutor accepted the appeals court decision, and said that his tribunal and all UN member states should be mindful of such fundamental violations like of Kajelijeli. As of now, we will have to be mindful of such violations to ensure that all states and ICTR observe proper procedures to stop recurrence of such situations, he told reporters when asked to comment on Kajelijeli s violations.

The UN tribunal which was created in 1994 to try the key perpetrators of the genocide has so far delivered 25 judgements; 22 convictions and three acquittals.

Trials are on for 25 detainees and 18 others are awaiting trials.

More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in the slaughter which triggered following the shooting down of the plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, near the capital, Kigali.

Habyarimana was returning from a regional peace meeting in Dar es Salaam. Also killed in the same place was Burundi s President Cyprien Ntaryamira.

INTERNEWS(Arusha,Tanzania)--The U.N International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on May 20,2005, dismissed an application of former Rwandan mayor accused of the 1994 genocide and instead increased his imprisonment by additional ten years.

Laurent Semanza(61), was on May 15,2003 found guilty of six counts and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, but he challenged the trial chamber sentencing on 22 grounds, which the appeals court dismissed all of them as groundless .

Presiding Judge Theodor Meron said that the accused, former Bicumbi, Kigali Rural Mayor, merited a much higher sentencing because of the gravity of crimes committed during the 100-day slaughter.

The genocide claimed lives of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The Appeals Chamber is not satisfied with sentences for complicity in genocide and aiding and abetting extermination that the trial chamber imposed he said., adding that the sentence be increased by 10 years to reflect Semanza s responsibility for ordering genocide and extermination at Musha Church in Gikoro commune, near the capital Kigali.

The prosecution had claimed that Semanza ordered and directed killings of thousands of Tutsi civilians who had sought refuge at the Church.

The judge however said that Semanza was granted a credit of nine years for the period already spent in detention, and subject to a further six-month reduction as ordered by the trial chamber for violations of fundamental pre-trial rights.

On Semanza s allegations of chamber s bias, the appeals court ruled that the appellant has not satisfied his burden of showing bias on the part of the trial chamber by rebutting the presumption impartiality.

The appeals chamber also concluded that the appellant had failed to show that the trial chamber unreasonably ignored insufficiencies or contradictions in the evidence pertaining to Semanza s identification for the events at Musha Church, the judge said, instead noted that there was sufficient evidence and credible evidence to show that the accused participated in the church killings.

Semanza once served as Central Committee member of the extremist Hutu MRND party during the genocide, and was a close friend of the former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana.

This is frivolous justice and judicial sacrifice it s inadmissible and unacceptable, claimed Charles Taku, lead counsel of Semanza. He said that the court has shown bias simply because Semanza was a close friend of late Juvenal Habyarimana.

The ICTR Prosecutor, Hassan Jallow, welcomed the judgement, saying that Semanza has received an appropriate sentencing for his role in the 1994 genocide.

The UN Court, which was established by the Security Council in 1994, has 63 detainees in custody and trials for 25 accused are underway.

Since the court was set up, 22 accused have been convicted and three acquitted.

In April 2005, thousands of Rwandans moved south into neighboring Burundi.

According to some reports, they are fleeing to avoid being summoned to appear at Gacaca - Rwanda's village courts set to try hundreds of thousands of genocide suspects.

The Government of Burundi says some five thousand crossed its border. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees puts the number at just over seven thousand. Media reports also claim about one thousand fled to neighboring Uganda and Tanzania.

The Rwandan Council for Refuges says it does not have any statistics.

Apart from the question of how many people have left Rwanda, the real question is perhaps why? Is it because of Gacaca? This is denied, by some of those who fled.

Some of them say they fled because they heard rumors the Rwandan government is planning to massacre them, with the help of local officials.

"We're not happy with our leaders", says Papius Hakizimana one of the people who fled to Burundi. "We hear they've distributed identity cards different to ours. Some say they have special bangles and necklaces too, to make it easy to distinguish Tutsi from Hutu. I don't know how our leaders could have thought of that idea", he concludes.

But local government officials deny this. They believe those who crossed the border are being manipulated by others who fear Rwandan justice will pursue them for alleged crimes in the 1994 genocide. Local leaders say such people are looking for a way to convince the rest of the population to join them in fleeing, so as to make it difficult to identify them.

Those who fled are currently staying in various reception centers in northern Burundi. The UNHCR provides food, water and other emergency supplies.

Towards the end of April, Rwandan and Burundian authorities met in northern Burundi to find a solution. Together, they now visit the reception centers to meet those who fled, and try to convince them to return home. Some agree to return, but others do not.

Those who return now say they feel safe back in Rwanda. Some even volunteer to return to the camps in Burundi with Rwandan officials, to try to persuade neighbors to come home.

Ansila Mukantagara says she fled to Burundi after a relative convinced her that their village would soon be attacked, and people would be thrown in the river to drown. "I left my two sons and came with some of my grandsons but others remained at home," she says "When I arrived here, I realized there was no reason to leave my home so I decided to return," she explains.

Local government officials insist Rwanda is safe and believe most of those who fled the country, at the onset of Gacaca, will soon return. "We believe some of those fleeing have been accused of crimes and are using others as human shields. But once they understand there is no reason for them to leave home, they'll return," says Martin Masabo the mayor of Kibingo district bordering Burundi.

According to the Rwanda National Council for Refugees, by the beginning of May 2005 over one thousand two hundred people had already returned. But some flatly refuse to do so.

"I think these people who are going back will die. They have less than seven days to live," exclaims Papius Hakizimana.

"Even those living in Rwanda are not truly resident. They've brought a lot of their belongings to Burundi, so they can come and go at any time," adds 18 year-old Marie Joseline Uwizeyimana.

For the Rwanda National Council for Refugees, such opinions are not helpful.

"The problem is, some people are holding them back" observes Innocent Ngango Executive Secretary of the National Council for Refugees. "We explain about how safe it is to return. But when we leave, others convince them it is dangerous to return. The reasons for staying appear to change every day, because those others keep telling them new things".

If so, how can this problem be resolved by Rwanda and Burundi?

Some say in time the 'long arm of the law' will solve the problem, and that if some of those fleeing have things to hide and deserve to face the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in Arusha, Tanzania, then that's where they'll end up.

"Even some of the people who fled to the USA and Europe have been extradited. That's the way it works at Arusha. We should make a list of the names of people accused and send it to Burundi for extradition, or so they can be tried under Burundi law", says Martin Masabo, Mayor of Kibingo district.

So far, legal authorities in Rwanda have not named any genocide suspects among those who recently fled the country.

But if, in time, they do provide such names, how might Burundi respond?

"We have an agreement with the Rwandan government: if there is evidence someone has committed a certain crime, we'll arrest them and hand them back. We are determined to help the Rwandans in this affair", says Didas Nzikoruriho, advisor to the Burundi minister of Local Government.

It is not easy to know if, or when, Rwandans who fled to Burundi will return, not to mention those who fled to neighboring Tanzania and Uganda.

It is also difficult to assess exactly how many people are planning to leave Rwanda, or have done so already.

But if it's true that the exodus and rate of return is being manipulated, by people who fear Gacaca and justice, it seems clear that reconciliation in Rwanda, at local level, still has a long way to go.

In February this year, judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found a former local councilor guilty of genocide, rape and murder.

Judges ruled that Mikaeli Muhimana - also known as 'Mika' - ex-Councilor of Gishyita Sector in Kibuye, western Rwanda, had personally raped at least seven women and encouraged the gang rape of more than five others. Most of the women were subsequently killed.

Judges stated that by targeting Tutsi women for rape and murder and by organizing and participating in massacres, Muhimana clearly intended to exterminate the Tutsi community.

Therefore, he is guilty of genocide.

The names of his victims were read out in court as a public gesture to acknowledge their suffering.