[JURIST] A defense lawyer representing four ex-officers of the former Rwandan army facing trials before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] has accused Prosecutor Hassan Jallow [ICTR profile] of concealing evidence favorable to the defense, according to Monday media reports. Lawyer Christopher Black claims Jallow possesses witness statements indicating that Black's client, former Rwandan army general Augustin Ndindiliyimana [TrialWatch profile], helped protect Tutsi civilians during the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder]. Black urged the court to sanction Jallow, to give Black access to Jallow's evidence database, to suspend the trial, and to temporarily release Ndindiliyimana pending further investigation into the alleged witness statements.

The ICTR was established to try genocide suspects for crimes occurring during the 1994 Rwandan conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in which approximately 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, died. Hirondelle News Agency has more.