[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] accepted into evidence Monday a controversial report on the events leading up to the 1994 Rwandan genocide [Human Rights Watch backgrounder; BBC backgrounder] written by French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere [BBC profile]. Despite claims of manipulation by one witness cited in the report, an ICTR judge decided to admit the report in the trial of Theoneste Bagosora [ICTR case materials], saying that the report could be of use in understanding the "context" in which the genocide took place.

The report implicates current Rwandan leaders, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame [BBC backgrounder], in the downing of a plane carrying then-President Juvenal Habyariman [Wikipedia profile], whose death triggered the genocide that killed over 800,000 people. Last month, Bruguiere recommended that Kagame stand trial [JURIST report] and issued arrest warrants [JURIST report] for nine of his top aides. Bruguiere's report was at the root of the Rwandan government's decision to sever all diplomatic ties with France [JURIST report] last month. AFP has more.