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PP RUEHRN
DE RUEHLGB #0859/01 3501223
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161223Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6522
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 0136
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0339

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIGALI 000859 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KJUS MARR CG RW
SUBJECT: NKUNDA'S ATTORNEY CONTINUES TO ARGUE HIS CLIENT'S 
CASE 
 
REF: A. KIGALI 289 
     ¶B. KINSHASA 600 
 
KIGALI 00000859  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador W. Stuart Symington for reasons 1.4 (b) (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Canadian defense attorney for detained 
CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda told Emboffs December 9 that 
Rwanda's Supreme Court had agreed to hold a hearing on 
January 13, 2010 about the legality of Nkunda's detention. 
The attorney claimed to have had no direct communication with 
Nkunda since before January 2009, and that Rwandan 
authorities have kept Nkunda under strict house arrest in 
Kigali since May.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Emboffs met December 9 with attorneys Stephane Bourgon 
(a Canadian) and Aime Bokanga (a Rwandan), defenders of 
Laurent Nkunda, a renegade Congolese military officer and 
former leader of the Congres National Pour la Defense des 
Peuples (CNDP) armed group.  According to Bourgon, Nkunda 
remains under house arrest at a villa in Gasabo (one of 
greater Kigali's three districts), where authorities 
transferred him in May.  Aside from visits from his wife 
Elysee Maeshe Nkunda, listening to radio broadcasts, and 
occasional newspapers, Nkunda is cut off from contact with 
the outside world.  Bourgon has not met with his client since 
Rwandan authorities detained him in January 2009.  Further, 
he claimed, Rwandan authorities on December 2 also stopped 
allowing Nkunda's wife to visit him. 
 
¶3. (C) Bourgon said the president of Rwanda's Supreme Court 
met with him earlier on December 9 and agreed to set a date 
of January 13 to hold a hearing on the legality of Nkunda's 
continued detention.  He explained that Rwandan law required 
him to name a specific individual as being responsible for 
Nkunda's "illegal and arbitrary" detention, and that he 
accordingly named Rwanda's military chief, Gen. James 
Kabarebe.  Bourgon added that in September, the military 
tribunal in Kigali refused to entertain the case. 
 
¶4. (C) The Supreme Court, Bourgon explained, was the ultimate 
legal authority over both civilians and military in Rwanda. 
If it decides it does not have jurisdiction over the case, 
"then we'll ask who does," he added, explaining that his next 
step would be to file a motion with the African Court of 
Human Rights, based in Bujumbura, or possibly even the 
International Criminal Court (ICC).  The African Court, he 
said, was not a desirable option because the process would 
take many months and the court itself had no ability to 
enforce a decision. 
 
¶5. (C) As far as Bourgon is aware, there are only two 
incidents for which Nkunda faces possible charges.  The first 
dates from 2005, when the Government of the Democratic 
Republic of the Congo (GDRC) filed an arrest warrant for 
insubordination.  This warrant expired after 90 days, 
however, and is no longer in force.  The other dates from 
November 2008, when troops from the Congres National pour la 
Defense du Peuple (CNDP) armed group in eastern DRC 
"committed crimes."  Nkunda "may possibly be linked" to these 
crimes, because he was leader of the CNDP at the time.  There 
are no outstanding charges against Nkunda in Rwanda, the DRC 
or in the ICC, he emphasized.  (Comment:  Bourgon did not 
allude to Nkunda's role in other incidents, such as the June 
2004 attack on Bukavu or the May 2002 repression of an 
uprising in Kisangani.  End Comment.) 
 
¶6. (C) Bourgon acknowledged the sensitive nature of the case 
and said he suspected the Government of Rwanda did not want 
Qand said he suspected the Government of Rwanda did not want 
to release Nkunda because he "knew too much" about alleged 
Rwandan involvement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
His attempts to contact the ministries of foreign affairs, 
justice, defense and the presidency about the case had gone 
unanswered.  Rwandan military intelligence chief Gen. Jack 
Musemwakeli  "holds the key," and Bourgon in fact called him 
for the first time the previous week.  Musemwakeli told 
Bourgon to stop the judicial proceedings, and then hung up; 
Bourgon has tried but been unable to contact him since. 
According to Bourgon, Nkunda's wife says Nkunda is willing to 
face trial either in the DRC or by the ICC, or to go into 
exile (NFI), but he "does not want to stay where he is." 
Bourgon added that he planned to write an open letter to 
President Kagame this week and give it to 
Kinyarwanda-language newspaper "Umuseso" in the hope that the 
international press would pick it up.  (Note:  Polcouns also 
subsequently heard BBC Africa broadcasting a radio interview 
with Bourgon.  End Note.) 
 
KIGALI 00000859  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (C) BIO NOTE:  Bourgon is an experienced defense attorney 
who for several years has won his bread by defending alleged 
war criminals at the International Criminal Tribunal for 
Yugoslavia (ICTY).  With the ICTY preparing to close, Bourgon 
has been picking up additional clients, including former 
Central African Republic president Ange-Felix Patasse (in 
connection to the ongoing ICC trial of onetime Congolese 
presidential hopeful Jean-Pierre Bemba), as well as Laurent 
Nkunda in 2006. 
 
¶8. (C) COMMENT: How Rwanda handles Nkunda will continue to 
have profound implications for the GOR's relationship with 
the DRC.  It is also a very significant domestic political 
issue in Rwanda.   Arresting Nkunda in January changed the 
political landscape in the region and in Rwanda.  It 
permitted the GOR and DRC to focus on attacking the Rwandan 
genocidaire-led rebel group known as  the Democratic Front 
for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and on integrating the 
CNDP and other militia forces into the FARDC.  In Rwanda, 
Nkunda's arrest was met with general surprise, and anger in 
some quarters.  Before his arrest, Nkunda and the CNDP had 
been seen by many in Rwanda (especially among Congolese 
refugees here) not as a war criminal but as the foe of the 
FDLR and the protector of Congolese Rwandaphone interests. 
Nkunda's "us against them" rhetoric, his advance on Goma last 
October, and his calls to replace President Kabila ran 
directly counter to Rwanda's efforts to cement a partnership 
with the DRC that would be effective against the FDLR and 
contribute to regional stability and growth.  The GOR is 
likely to face growing pressure to try or release Nkunda, but 
it does not appear to have a better option than sustaining 
his current detention.  Handing him over to the DRC for trial 
would trigger strong internal criticism in Rwanda.  Releasing 
him to return to the Kivus would inject new insecurity there 
and undermine fatally GOR-DRC cooperation.  Sending him 
abroad would not ensure against an immediate return to the 
Kivus.  At a minimum, this legal process is not likely to be 
resolved quickly.  END COMMENT 
SYMINGTON