United Nations Radio

The Appeal's Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has dismissed an appeal by a former defence investigator to reverse his conviction and sentence for contempt.

Leonidas Nshogoza was sentenced to ten months in prison in July last year after being convicted of repeatedly meeting with and disclosing the protected information of witnesses in violation of the court's order issued in 2000.

The offense was committed during the trial of Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda, a Rwandan politician who was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

In his appeal, Nshogoza requested the court to acquit him or, alternatively, to review and reduce his ten-month sentence.

But the Appeal's Chamber on Monday affirmed Nshogoza's conviction and sentence saying he failed to demonstrate that the Trial Chamber had made a mistake in its assessment of the aggravating factors surrounding his offence.

The Court credited Nshogoza for time served and ordered his immediate release taking into account that he had voluntarily surrendered to the tribunal at its seat in Arusha, Tanzania in February 2008 and had been in custody since then.

Diane Bailey, United Nations
Duration: 1'17"