A hearing of a preliminary motion filed by the Defence in the matter of the Prosecutor versus Ferdinand Nahimana, who is charged in connection with the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, will be held on Wednesday 27 August before Trial Chamber 1 of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

The Defence's preliminary motion is based on defects in the form of the indictment and the decision confirming the indictment, and irregularities in the service of the indictment.

The hearing will be held before Judge Navanethem Pillay (presiding), Judge Laïty Kama and Judge William Sekule. Nahimana is defended by J.M. Biju -Duval from France.

Nahimana, currently in detention in Arusha, is a former representative of Radio Té/évision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM).

1 September 1997: A motion filed by the Defence seeking orders for witness protection measures in the case of Ellie Ndayambaje, a former Bourgmestre or Muganza will be heard by the Tribunal.

3 September 1997: Three other persons already indicted by the TribunaI, are also scheduled to make an initial appearance before the Tribunal. They are: Alfred Musema, a former Director of Gisovu Tea Factory, in Kibuye prefecture, who was arrested in Switzerland; Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, a former Minister in the Government of the late President Habyarimana; and her son, Arsene Shalom Ntahobali. The Iast two were arrested during the NAKI (Nairobi -Kigali} operation last July in Nairobi, Kenya.