Rwandan war crimes suspect seeks bail

Dsir Munyaneza's two-day bail hearing is underway at the Montreal courthouse.

Munyaneza is the first person in Canada to be charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the events of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

• INDEPTH: Rwanda

He was arrested in October 2005, and has waited until now to ask the court to release him pending the outcome of his trial.

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Jury selection is to get underway in about a year.

Details of the bail hearing cannot be reported on, by order of the Quebec Superior Court. The publication ban is designed to avoid prejudicing anyone who may be called as a jury candidate.

What can be reported is that three people testified on Munyaneza's behalf.

The court will also hear from a Canadian police officer.

After the witnesses are heard and lawyers for the government and Munyaneza make their legal arguments, the judge will take the bail request under advisement.

Other issues ahead of the trial still need to be sorted out, including a trip by the lawyers and the court to Rwanda to gather evidence from witnesses who can't or won't travel to Canada to testify.

There's also the question of continued government funding of Munyaneza's legal bills.

Munyaneza is accused of raping and murdering people in the southern Butare province of Rwanda. The charges against him mark the first time the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act has been used since it was enacted five years ago.

Munyaneza is Hutu and the son of a wealthy businessman. He came to Canada in 1996 and claimed refugee status, but was turned down. He moved to Toronto about four years ago, where he was living with his wife and two children at the time of his arrest.

In October, reporters asked the Crown why Munyaneza's trial would be held in Montreal, and not in Toronto, where he was living. The Crown refused to divulge the reason.