US human rights lawyer Peter Erlinder was granted bail by the Rwandan High Court on 17 June 2010 on medical grounds. The Court acknowledged the gravity of his health conditions and the need for urgent medical attention and found this incompatible with his stay in detention. The Court however stated that the Peter Erlinder has a strong case to answer, and rejected other objections raised by his lawyers concerning procedural and jurisdictional irregularities.

The Court Judge also disregarded a letter from the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda (ICTR) asking court to release him because he had immunity, arguing that the letter should have been addressed to the Court directly and not to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Peter Erlinder, who was in hospital at the time of the ruling, was arrested by police in Kigali on 28 May 2010 on accusations of denying the 1994 genocide. He had arrived in Kigali on 23 May 2010 in order to meet with his client Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, opposition leader and presidential candidate, who is charged with “associating with terrorists”, “genocide ideology” and “inciting ethnic hatred” following her arrest earlier this year.

See the original Urgent Appeal of 8 June 2010.