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Prosecutors Call First Witness in Genocide Case

U.S. Prosecutors charge a Manchester woman with lying about her role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

They say she concealed her past to become a U.S. citizen.

Government lawyers say Beatrice Munyenyezi “encouraged killers to kill and rapists to rape.”

They told jurors that their witnesses – who are being flown in from Rwanda - will make it clear Munyenyezi “acted enthusiastically in these events.”

Munyenyezi’s lawyer David Ruoff argues those witnesses are being pressured by the Rwandan government.

He called the Rwandan President a thug who goes after anyone that challenges the idea that Hutus committed genocide against the Tutsis.

“Much of the defense is focused on informing the jurors about the context these witnesses come from, the society they come from.”

Munyenyezi’s lawyers say when the International Criminal Tribunal investigated the genocide – 500 witnesses testified and Munyenyezi’s name never came up.

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