Bishop Charged in Rwandan Genocide

A Roman Catholic bishop was charged Friday with helping to organize a 1994 Rwandan genocide and with murdering a dozen children.

Bishop Augustin Misago did not enter a plea, and the trial was quickly suspended to allow the Kigali Criminal Court to consider complaints made by the defense.

Misago, 56, was arrested in April on suspicion of playing a role in the 1994 slaughter of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

He was charged on five counts, including genocide and other crimes against humanity, the creation of an armed militia, the massacre of a dozen children and complicity in genocide. Misago faces the death penalty if found guilty.

Defense lawyers argued that Misago’s detention was illegal and called for his temporary release on the grounds of ill health.

Misago, wearing a pink prison uniform and a large cross around his neck, told the court that he did not have enough time to read and understand his 300-page case file and asked for a two-week delay.

The bishop’s arrest came shortly after a memorial service in April to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the genocide. Survivors attending the ceremonies publicly accused him of being involved in massacres in his diocese of Gikongoro, 60 miles southwest of Kigali, the capital.

The Vatican sharply criticized the arrest and called for the bishop’s release.