NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An international lawyers’ group is demanding the release of an American lawyer charged with genocide denial in Rwanda.
The International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association on Saturday urged lawyers and organizations to demand Peter Erlinder’s release. Erlinder is in Rwanda to defend presidential hopeful Victoire Ingabire against charges that include promoting genocidal ideology. He was arrested Friday.
ICDAA board member Alison Turner said in Kenya that the charges are political and lack legal foundation.
The U.S. National Lawyers Guild said Rwanda’s government was trying to hamstring Ingabire’s legal defense by arresting Erlinder. He heads an association of defense lawyers at the U.N. tribunal that is trying the masterminds of the 1994 genocide.