Judgement Desire Munyaneza (Canada)

R. c. Munyaneza 2009 QCCS 2201

SUPERIOR COURT

CRIMINAL DIVISIONCANADAPROVINCE OF QUÉBECDISTRICT OF MONTRÉALNo. 500-73-002500-052DATE: May 22, 2009 ______________________________________________________________________

PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE ANDRÉ DENIS J.S.C.

______________________________________________________________________

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,

Prosecutor v.

DÉSIRÉ MUNYANEZA,

Accused

JUDGMENT

I – PREAMBLE

"Even I said nothing, the air, the earth And the wind would howl the truthOf what happened in RwandaWitness C-18

[1] A muggy night had already fallen on the hills of Kigali when the presidential planearriving from Dar es Salaam flew over the airport.

JS1648

500-73-002500-052 PAGE : 2[2] A ground-to-air missile hit the plane as it began its descent.[3] In the early morning, Rwandans learned of the death of their president.[4] This judgment recounts events that occurred in Rwanda between April 6 and July 4,1994.

II – TRIAL

[5] I presided over the trial of Désiré Munyaneza, born in Rwanda on December [...],1966 and now living in Canada.[6] Mr. Munyaneza is charged with seven counts of genocide, crimes against humanityand war crimes. The indictment is reproduced in the chapter entitled “The Law” and isappended to the judgment.[7] Arrested in Toronto, Ontario, on October 19, 2005, he appeared before me the nextday. In April 2006, he filed a motion for interim release, which I dismissed on April 27,2006 on the ground that his release could undermine the public’s trust in theadministration of justice.[8] Mr. Munyaneza was charged under the

Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act

(the “Act”), adopted by the Canadian Parliament in 2000 (S.C. 2000, c. 24). He isthe first to be prosecuted under that legislation in Canada.[9] The trial should have taken place before a judge of the Superior Court and a jury,but Canadian law allows the accused, if the prosecution consents, to opt to be heardbefore only a judge. That was the choice the parties made.[10] Trials for crimes against humanity and war crimes are extremely rare outside of international criminal tribunals. To my knowledge, this is a first in North and SouthAmerica.[11] Also to my knowledge, this is the first time that a single judge has heard such acase, even in international criminal tribunals, where collegiality is the rule.[12] The trial began on March 27, 2007 at the Montréal courthouse in the province of Québec. It took place in French, one of the two official languages in Canada, along withEnglish.[13] Mr. Munyaneza, who pursued his university studies in French, chose thelanguage of the trial, as was his right. Nonetheless, the majority of witnesses wereheard in Kinyarwanda, one of Rwanda’s official languages, and interpreters

500-73-002500-052 PAGE : 3continuously translated the testimony at the hearing. Mr. Munyaneza speaksKinyarwanda. He also understands English.[14] Certain witnesses were also heard in French and others, fewer in number, inEnglish. Québec judges are bilingual (French, English) and no translation was requiredfor that testimony. The accused specifically waived translation of the testimony.[15] In January and February 2007, before the trial began, I presided over a rogatorycommission in Kigali, Rwanda, during which I heard the first 14 prosecution witnesses,who could not travel to Canada. The accused specifically waived translation of thetestimony.[16] Those hearings could have been conducted by video-conferencing, but Ipreferred to go there myself in order to see, hear and assess the credibility of eachwitness in person.[17] I ordered that each testimony be filmed and recorded, and that all the recordingsbe given to Mr. Munyaneza, along with the stenographic notes, so that he could beapprised of the evidence and discuss it with his attorneys.[18] Beginning on March 27, 2007, I heard 16 other prosecution witnesses at theMontréal courthouse. Thus, the prosecution called 30 witnesses to testify and declaredits case closed.[19] The accused filed three motions for rogatory commissions in order to examine,outside Canada, witnesses who could not travel here. I allowed the three motions, andthe rogatory commissions were held in the same manner as that requested by theprosecution.[20] In January 2008, I heard three defence witnesses in Paris, France.[21] In April 2008, I heard seven defence witnesses in Kigali, Rwanda.[22] In May 2008, I heard 14 defence witnesses in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.[23] The organization of four rogatory commissions, in the circumstances of this trial,was a colossal undertaking for all participants.[24] Returning to Canada, I heard 12 additional defence witnesses. The accusedcalled 36 witnesses and declared his case closed.[25] Thus, I heard 66 witnesses in all, whose testimony covers over 16 000 pages of stenographic notes.[26] The parties filed close to 200 exhibits in the record.