SWAZILAND has agreed to open its prisons for convicts in Rwanda, easing pressure on the United Nations to find suitable prisons for them. Jails in Rwanda have been crammed with awaiting-trial prisoners since the 1994 genocide and thousands of suspects are expected to be tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. UN assistant secretary general Agwu Ukiwe Okali, who is also registrar of the tribunal, said finding prisons for the convicts had proved more difficult than expected. Most countries on the continent were either unable or unwilling to keep the genocide convicts. Mali and Benin have agreed to keep genocide prisoners, while Togo is still considering the UN request, he said. – African Eye News Service
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