ARUSHA,Tanzania (INTERNEWS)--The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on March 14,2005 handed down a six-year jail sentence to a former Rwandan councillor for his role in the 1994 genocide, which claimed lives of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutu.

Presiding Judge Andrea Vaz said that the jail sentence follows a guilty plea admitted by Vincent Rutaganira, 60, a former Councillor for Mubuga, Kibuye, and western Rwanda in December.

‘ The chamber sentences to six year in prison for finding you guilty for crimes against humanity by extermination, ' said the Judge, adding that the accused will however benefit from the time already spent in detention.

Rutaganira was arrested in March, 2002, in a refugee camp in northwestern Tanzania .

When admitting the plea, the judge said she was satisfied that the guilty plea had been done voluntarily and the accused knew of the consequences.

Under the guilty plea agreement made on 7 December 2004 with the ICTR Prosecutor, Rutaganira acknowledged full responsibility of omissions in connection with deaths of thousands of Tutsi civilians who took refuge at Mubuga Church in Kibuye between April 8 and 15, 1994.

Rutaganira conceded that he took no action to protect Tutsi refugees in the commune where he was a government official during the genocide.

Rutaganira expressed remorse for the killings, adding that he wanted to contribute to search for the full truth about the genocide as a way to promote reconciliation in Rwanda .

Trial attorney Charles Adeogun-Phillips had urged the tribunal that Rutaganira ' s lack of personal participation in the killings, advanced age, poor health and family situation to be given a sentence of between 6 and 8 years.

Rutaganira, a father of ten children, suffers from diabetes.

The former councilor was charged originally with 19 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva conventions, but the charges were amended to seven and finally dropped to only one charge after the accused entered into a plea-bargain agreement with the prosecution.

He is the fourth accused to have entered guilty plea since the creation of the court in November 1994 by the UN Security Council.

The first to have entered the guilty plea was former Rwandan Prime Minister Jean Kambanda, followed by journalist Georges Ruggiu and then businessman Omar Serushago.

According to the Chief of Press and Public Affairs, Bocar Sy, the Arusha-based UN tribunal has so far sentenced 24 accused --21 convictions and three acquittals - while 26 detainees are on trial and 17 others waiting for their trials.

The special representative of the Rwandan government to the U.N. tribunal in Arusha, Aloys Mutabingwa said the admission of guilt by Rutaganira ‘ signals reconciliation between the perpetrators and victims...Rutaganira expressed remorse at the killings and what he could or could not do[during genocide] . H e is courageous. '

He said the sentence given to the former councilor ‘ should serve as an incentive for other accused [at UN tribunal] who does not want to waste time in court proceedings. '

Over two thousand Rwandan witnesses who have testified at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda can now receive medical care through the ICTR clinic in Kigali .

The same opportunity is offered to any potential or future witnesses, assisting either prosecution or defense teams.

“The witnesses find out about our clinic through the witness support services but we hope in the future they will come by themselves”, says Dr. Epee Hernandez Chief of Health Unit Kigali and Arusha.

In 1995, the Tribunal was inaugurated with a mandate to find and judge those people suspected of involvement in the Rwandan genocide. Since then, the ICTR has worked with the Rwandan government to identify witnesses willing to testify.

Most of the witnesses were affected by genocide. Some were raped - some infected with the HIV virus. Others suffer from severe psychological trauma. Whatever their medical needs, the ICTR clinic does its best to offer professional help.

But it seems some people have a negative impression of the ICTR's medical services.

Elsie Effange Mbella, Gender Advisor in the Office of the Registrar says the issue of medical care and psychological care for witnesses especially in the area of HIV/AIDS is one of the most sensitive issues that she dealt with since she assumed office. “Many of our detractors have been under the false impression that we do not provide HIV/AIDS care for witnesses” she says. “That's very false because we have indeed recruited medical experts to take care of medical support for witnesses including in the area of HIV/AIDS”, says Ms. Mbella.

ICTR first began protecting and supporting witnesses in 1997. In April 2004, the Tribunal set up a clinic in Kigali to provide medical care. Full-time staff now include a gynecologist, psychologists and a lab technician.

Previously, external consultants were hired. But in time, that system was considered unsuitable. According to Sylvie Becky, Deputy Chief, Witnesses and Victims Support Section, the tribunal had to pay approximately 23.000 USD to outside specialists providing medical care to our witnesses “The Registrar thought that this amount was too high and it is in the interest of the victims for confidentiality reasons - but also in the interest of the tribunal in view of our financial limitations - to set up a clinic”, says Sylvie Becky.

The clinic started a year ago and provides medical care to 226 witnesses, some on a weekly basis.

The witnesses and victims support section says 27 witnesses have been confirmed HIV positive and are receiving anti retroviral treatment

“We are also organizing on weekly basis counseling and post-counseling for HIV testing of witnesses if they volunteer”, says Elsie, Gender Advisor to the Registrar.

The first witnesses to testify at the ICTR appeared before the court in 1997. Today those same original witnesses are still receiving medical care.

A witness with concealed identity says that it is a good thing for the tribunal to give free medical care to witnesses because people usually testify out of their own will and should not expect any remuneration.

However, some witnesses still prefer the ICTR's previous system for medical care.

Mukakinani Sarafina testified at the ICTR in 1997 she is among those who still receive medical care. “At first, when we were still under private consultants, we would get all the medicine that was prescribed to us”, she explains. “Today, if the medication you require is not among the ones that are available at the clinic, then you won't have it and you risk dying ”.

Some witnesses are concerned that since the new clinic is located within the ICTR premises in Kigali, their confidential status as witnesses could be compromised if people see them going there for treatment.

But that argument raises another question: if being seen going into the ICTR risks confidentiality, is it relevant whether or not one receives medical treatment once inside the compound?

Members of the survivors' association AVEGA - who regularly testify at the ICTR - say it would be better if the ICTR channeled medical services through the AVEGA clinic in Kigali .

“If they supported our clinic and our members were treated from here, members would feel more comfortable because they know the doctors here are more sensitive to their situation” explains Kayiganwa Aurea, Coordinator of AVEGA . “However, if it is not possible, we would simply hope the ICTR will protect the confidentiality of any witness who goes to ICTR for medical treatment ”.

The ICTR's Witness Support and Protection Section says it is aware of such concerns. Sylvie Becky, Deputy Chief Witness and Victims Support Section says that her section, considering respect of confidentiality, thought it is important for the witnesses to receive medical care services directly from the ICTR staff.

So far, less than 300 of the ICTR's 2000 witnesses living in Rwanda have attended the Tribunal's medical clinic in Kigali for treatment.

At present, some of the others may not be aware free medical services are available, or may find it difficult for some reason to get to the clinic.

But for those who do, there is no doubt they find it helpful.

18/03/2005, Kigali

By Mary Kimani

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in March sentenced Vincent Rutaganira, the former councillor of Mubuga sector to 6 years in prison for failing to stop the massacres that took place at the Mubuga Catholic Church.

Rutaganira pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting extermination through his failure to act to stop the killings. Rutaganira admitted that by failing to do so, he encouraged the perpetrators. He is the fourth person from sixty-two detainees at the ICTR, to admit guilt in the Rwandan genocide. The first to have entered the guilty plea was former Rwandan Prime Minister, Jean Kambanda.

The senior trial attorney in the case, Charles Adeogun Phillips said that the guilt plea "will assist in the administration of justice as well as in the process of national reconciliation in Rwanda."

"We feel that by pleading guilty Mr. Rutaganira should be seen as setting an example that may encourage others like him to acknowledge their personal involvement in the massacres that occurred in Rwanda in 1994," Phillips told the court.

Today, the parish church in Mubuga is a tranquil place. The church has been repaired and the sound of choir practice greets you as you enter. However, just outside the church, there are many gravestones, marking the remains of hundreds of Tutsis killed in April 1994. Jean Damascene Gakwerere is a primary school teacher; he and his neighbour lived next to the church.

"Oh! So many people died here! Most of them were colleagues, friends, and neighbours , Gakwerere remembers. His neighbour agrees. " Many people sought refuge in the neighbouring area, many were killed in this church by the gendarmes and armed attackers," he recalls.

The Court at the ICTR heard that from 10 th April 1994 , soldiers and gendarmes sent by Prefect Clement Kayishema stood guard around the church, allegedly to protect those hiding inside. According to the prosecution, the same soldiers and gendarmes, together with local Mayor Charles Sikubwabo, later launched the attack that killed thousands.

John Munyangabe is a prisoner awaiting trial in Rwanda . He says he was one of the militia who took part in the attack. " About nine in the morning, the paramilitary police got us and told us to go to the church; Vincent was there, the mayor was there, they led the attacks," Munyangabe says. The gendarmes then began shelling the church. The things that were done afterwards were simply terrible," he recalls.

The ICTR indicted seven of the officials allegedly present at the massacre. They include Prefect Kayishema, who was tried and sentenced to life and Mayor Sikubwabo, who is still at large. Vincent Rutaganira, the councillor of Mubuga was also on the list. Although he was a junior official, the prosecution argued that he could have tried to stop the slaughter.

"Despite his position as councilor of Mubuga sector Mr. Rutaganira took no active steps to protect the Tutsi refugees who had sought refuge inside the Mubuga church and instead literally stood aside and watched his fellow country men and women as they were slaughtered at the Mubuga Parish church on the 15th of April 1994," Charles Phillips told the court. However, in mitigation, the prosecution noted that Rutaganira has shown remorse for what happened at Mubuga, and has assisted the Tribunal.

"It has to be said that Vincent Rutaganira surrendered voluntarily to the Tribunal on 18 February 2002. This is in itself unique because there are only two accused persons that have ever surrendered voluntarily to the custody of the Tribunal in the ten years since its establishment," Phillips pointed out.

After Rutaganira pleaded guilty, Prosecution lawyers asked the Court to dismiss all other charges against him, saying they have not found any evidence that he had either helped to plan, or had personally participated in, the killings at the Church. In Court, Rutaganira went one step further and asked forgiveness.

"I am still profoundly hurt by what has happened and I would like to ask pardon from the victims and the Tribunal," Rutaganira told the court.

So what do the residents of Mubuga think of the Rutaganira's guilty plea? " Anyone who does not accept responsibility for their crimes is a difficult person. To deny what you did, is very bad. Those who refuse to take responsibility are extremists, but someone who confesses shows the intention of never repeating it again," Jean Damascene Gakwerere reckons.

John Munyangabe is less optimistic. In his eyes, by failing to do anything at the parish Church in Mubuga, Vincent Rutaganira participated in the crime. " Has he really accepted that he had a role in the killings? It seems to us that in his plea, he is asking survivors for forgiveness, because he did nothing to stop the killings. This is not what he should have said. He should have said 'I too led the killers."

When Rutaganira pleaded guilty, the Prosecutor and Defense agreed on what they consider an appropriate sentence for the former councilor, which they have urged the judges to consider.

"The Prosecutor, in agreement with the defense, hereby recommends a term of imprisonment of between 6-8 years with credit given to Mr. Rutaganira for the period already served on remand. The prosecutor further recommends that Mr. Rutaganira be allowed to serve his sentence in a prison facility either in Europe or in the Kingdom of Swaziland," Charles Phillips told the court.

In Rwanda, there are those who felt that this is too lenient.

"That only happened because he is under International law. Otherwise, I do not understand it. He asks for 6 years, while we have been in prison for 10 years. This is very hard for us to accept. But what can we do? He made his plea and asked for that sentence. We don't think it's fair to us," Munyangabe complains.

Another prisoner in Rwanda , Laurent Musyimyimana agrees. " We think that sentence is too low. His plea sounds very superficial, it lacks detail. If his plea was genuine, maybe he could get a fair sentence. But we should also get fair sentences, because it was people like him who manipulated us."

However, Presiding Judge Andresia Vaz had only positive words for Rutaganira. " We wish to commend you for the courage that you have shown in choosing to decide to surrender yourself to the Tribunal and to plead guilty. We wish to reassure you because we do hope that others will follow your choice," Judge Vas told Rutaganira.