DEFENCE lawyers on Tuesday finished their summing up in the case of two nuns accused by a Belgian court of taking part in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that claimed up to 800_000 lives. The two lawyers representing one of the nuns, Sister Kizito, rejected the testimony of prosecution witnesses, describing their statements as a “pack of lies.” According to the indictment, Sisters Gertrude and Kizito handed 5_000 to 7_000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus who had been sheltering in their convent over to Hutu militia. The case opened two months ago and could draw to a close as early as Friday after deliberations on Thursday. The two nuns are being tried under a 1993 law that allows courts in Belgium – the former colonial power in Rwanda – to try Belgian residents, whatever their nationality, for crimes allegedly committed abroad. – AFP