[JURIST] The appellate chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] on Wednesday upheld a trial chamber acquittal [press release] of two high-ranking government officials accused of genocide and massive crimes against humanity during the 1994 crisis. Former Transport Minister Andre Ntagerura [PDF indictment] and former provincial Governor Emmanuel Bagambiki [PDF indictment] had been tried by the ICTR trial chamber and acquitted [PDF judgment] by a three-judge panel in 2004 on the grounds that the prosecutor had not proven the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Prosecutors asked for a retrial [JURIST report] earlier this week, arguing that the tribunal did not consider testimony from seven suspected accomplices of the two defendants. The appellate chamber's confirmation of the ruling means that the two men are free and cannot be tried again for charges related to those already tried. IRIN News has more.