He was speaking at a press conference he held yesterday in Kigali along with Rwanda’s Prosecutor General, Jean Bosco Mutangana.
Brammertz said that early release should follow clear directives and said that Meron’s decisions are inappropriate due to the intensity of genocide crimes.
“Internationally, early release has certain directives. Here, we speak about genocide crime, a crime that had impact to the human being and the country, which is why they need transparency. For me, before releasing any convict, I would make sure whether they don’t negate or trivialize the crimes they had perpetrated,” he explained.
He said that laws releasing people who served two-thirds in prison should go clear.
“Currently, no law compels the Judge to consult any person before granting early release to convicts, that is why my office has embarked on requesting for the establishment of the law, so that it will specify procedures leading to early release. The law should include consulting parties connected with the decision,” he added.
Mutangana said that early release of genocide convicts should reflect impact it would cause to unity and reconciliation of Rwandans.
“Those are Rwandans who were sentenced by international courts, they were tried and sentenced by the United Nations, but,they were not deprived of Rwandan nationality, there are Rwandans and we are still witnessing the genocide effects. That is why early release decisions should be discussed and agreed between UN and the country,” he said.
MICT’s Meron granted early release to Ferdinand Nahimana and Fr. Emmanuel Rukundo who were serving their sentences in Mali.
Meron is also in the process to release Col. Aloys Simba, Dominique Ntawukuriryayo and Hassan Ngeze who have already served two-thirds of their sentences.
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