Peter Erlinder
Encyclopedia
C. Peter Erlinder is an American lawyer, originally from Chicago, who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he teaches at William Mitchell College of Law
. He was Lead Defence Counsel for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
and has represented several clients internationally, most notably several Rwandan opposition leaders, including Rwandan Presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire.
, then spent two years at Georgetown Law School. He graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law
, and was a lecturer at the University of Chicago
, before becoming a professor at William Mitchell.
. The Republic of Rwanda has issued a statement that claims that Erlinder "continually engaged in conspiracy theories and denial surrounding the circumstances of the genocide [and] has promulgated this dangerous and distorted fiction over many years." This statement claims that he was arrested for allegedly denying
the Rwandan Genocide
, and accuses him of links to FDLR. Police spokesman Eric Kayiranga claims that Erlinder said that "no Tutsis were killed by Hutus." As a result of Kayiranga's claim, some media have reported that Erlinder's defense of clients accused of genocide included the argument "that the Tutsis were not the primary victims but the instigators and that the massacres were actually part of a civil war."
Erlinder does not deny the Rwandan genocide per se. He wrote, of his client at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, that "if (the accused) engaged in no conspiracy and no planning to kill ethnic civilians, the tragedy that engulfed Rwanda in 1994 may not properly be called a ‘genocide’ at all". . Although "Conspiracy to commit genocide" is just one of six possible genocidal crimes enumerated in the "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," the crime of genocide still requires proof of "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group." http://www.preventgenocide.org/law/convention/text.htm .
Erlinder has sued Kagame for ordering the Rwanda Patriot Front (RPF) to commit war crimes, including murder, and has accused the United States of turning a blind eye to Kagame's wrongdoing. Amnesty International has confirmed that the RPF committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, but the crimes have largely escaped international notice.
The National Lawyers Guild
called for his immediate release. William Mitchell College of Law
stated that it stands in solidarity with Erlinder. The International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association condemned Erlinder’s arrest as “an attack on the right to counsel and the independence of counsel,” and demanded that he be freed. Paul Rusesabagina
, the subject of the film Hotel Rwanda
,argues that Erlinder is a political prisoner
who should be immediately released, as President Kagame frequently silences his political opponents by charging them with the crime of genocide denial.
Despite the American State Department's call for Erlinder's release, a Rwandan judge denied Erlinder's request for bail on June 7, 2010, and Erlinder stayed imprisoned in Kigali. In the wake of Erlinder's continued detention, the work at the United Nation's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
has ground to a halt. Current defense attorneys refused to proceed with their casework, for fear that they too could be arrested and held by the Kagame regime. Recognizing the effect of Erlinder's arrest, the American Bar Association
has called on Rwanda to respect the U.N. Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, and to "refrain from harassment of lawyers practicing law consistent with their professional obligations." Other groups, including Advocates for Human Rights and the Society of American Law Teachers, joined in calling for Erlinder's immediate release. U.S. Congressional Representatives Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison have introduced a resolution calling on Rwanda to immediately release Erlinder, pointing out that the U.S. gives Rwanda hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid every year; Senator Amy Klobuchar has also called for Erlinder's release, and has asked Rwandan authorities to grant him an expedited appeal.
Writing in the Harvard Law Record
, Patrick Karuretwa said that Rwanda was right to prosecute Erlinder, stating the country's anti-genocide denial laws helped ensure its stability and progress, and that no exemptions should be made for an individual's privileged position.
Erlinder was released on bail on June 18.
William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....
. He was Lead Defence Counsel for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
and has represented several clients internationally, most notably several Rwandan opposition leaders, including Rwandan Presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire.
Biography
Erlinder was born in Chicago. He received his bachelors degree from Bradley UniversityBradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
, then spent two years at Georgetown Law School. He graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago–Kent College of Law, the law school affiliated with Illinois Institute of Technology, is nationally recognized for the scholarship and accomplishments of its faculty and student body. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. Many of the applications of technology in the...
, and was a lecturer at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, before becoming a professor at William Mitchell.
Defendants
Erlinder specializes in high-profile crimes involving terrorism, the death penalty, civil rights, claims of government and police misconduct, and criminal defense of political activists. Some of the clients he has defended include:- Mohammed Abdullah Warsame
- Sami al-ArianSami Al-ArianDr. Sami Amin Al-Arian , is a former resident of Temple Terrace, Florida, now living in Northern Virginia, who is a Muslim activist, and former University of South Florida professor of computer engineering...
- Victoire Ingabire
Arrest in Rwanda
Erlinder was arrested on May 28, 2010, in the Rwandan capital. He is currently defending opposition leader Victoire Ingabire against the same charge which he now faces, a law prohibiting "Genocide Ideology" – speech refuting that the 1994 Rwandan genocide occurred exactly as the Rwandan government claims. Rwandan GenocideRwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
. The Republic of Rwanda has issued a statement that claims that Erlinder "continually engaged in conspiracy theories and denial surrounding the circumstances of the genocide [and] has promulgated this dangerous and distorted fiction over many years." This statement claims that he was arrested for allegedly denying
Genocide denial
Genocide denial occurs when an act of genocide is met with attempts to deny the occurrence and minimize the scale or death toll. The most well-known type is Holocaust denial, but its definition can extend to any genocide that has been minimized or met with excessive skepticism.Where there is near...
the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
, and accuses him of links to FDLR. Police spokesman Eric Kayiranga claims that Erlinder said that "no Tutsis were killed by Hutus." As a result of Kayiranga's claim, some media have reported that Erlinder's defense of clients accused of genocide included the argument "that the Tutsis were not the primary victims but the instigators and that the massacres were actually part of a civil war."
Erlinder does not deny the Rwandan genocide per se. He wrote, of his client at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, that "if (the accused) engaged in no conspiracy and no planning to kill ethnic civilians, the tragedy that engulfed Rwanda in 1994 may not properly be called a ‘genocide’ at all". . Although "Conspiracy to commit genocide" is just one of six possible genocidal crimes enumerated in the "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," the crime of genocide still requires proof of "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group." http://www.preventgenocide.org/law/convention/text.htm .
Erlinder has sued Kagame for ordering the Rwanda Patriot Front (RPF) to commit war crimes, including murder, and has accused the United States of turning a blind eye to Kagame's wrongdoing. Amnesty International has confirmed that the RPF committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, but the crimes have largely escaped international notice.
The National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy group in the United States "dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system . ....
called for his immediate release. William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....
stated that it stands in solidarity with Erlinder. The International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association condemned Erlinder’s arrest as “an attack on the right to counsel and the independence of counsel,” and demanded that he be freed. Paul Rusesabagina
Paul Rusesabagina
Paul Rusesabagina is a Rwandan humanitarian who has been internationally honored for saving 1,268 refugees during the Rwandan Genocide. He was the assistant manager of the Sabena Hôtel des Mille Collines before he became the manager of the Hôtel des Diplomates, both in Kigali, Rwanda...
, the subject of the film Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 American drama film directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay written by both George and Keir Pearson. Based on real life events which took place in Rwanda during the spring of 1994, the film stars Don Cheadle as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina, who attempts to...
,argues that Erlinder is a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
who should be immediately released, as President Kagame frequently silences his political opponents by charging them with the crime of genocide denial.
Despite the American State Department's call for Erlinder's release, a Rwandan judge denied Erlinder's request for bail on June 7, 2010, and Erlinder stayed imprisoned in Kigali. In the wake of Erlinder's continued detention, the work at the United Nation's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
has ground to a halt. Current defense attorneys refused to proceed with their casework, for fear that they too could be arrested and held by the Kagame regime. Recognizing the effect of Erlinder's arrest, the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
has called on Rwanda to respect the U.N. Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, and to "refrain from harassment of lawyers practicing law consistent with their professional obligations." Other groups, including Advocates for Human Rights and the Society of American Law Teachers, joined in calling for Erlinder's immediate release. U.S. Congressional Representatives Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison have introduced a resolution calling on Rwanda to immediately release Erlinder, pointing out that the U.S. gives Rwanda hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid every year; Senator Amy Klobuchar has also called for Erlinder's release, and has asked Rwandan authorities to grant him an expedited appeal.
Writing in the Harvard Law Record
Harvard Law Record
The Harvard Law Record is an independent, biweekly student-edited newspaper based at Harvard Law School. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest law school newspaper in the United States.-Characteristics:...
, Patrick Karuretwa said that Rwanda was right to prosecute Erlinder, stating the country's anti-genocide denial laws helped ensure its stability and progress, and that no exemptions should be made for an individual's privileged position.
Erlinder was released on bail on June 18.
Activities
(This list is from here.)- National president, National Lawyers GuildNational Lawyers GuildThe National Lawyers Guild is an advocacy group in the United States "dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system . ....
, 1993–97. - Current member, National Lawyers Guild Steering Committee.
- Member, National Lawyers Guild Foundation Board.
- Founding board member, National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, Washington, DC.
- Member, National Conference of Bill of Rights Defense Committees Steering Committee, Washington, DC.
- Founding member, Minnesota Bill of Rights Defense Coalition.
- Member, Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action Board.
- Defense Attorney at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaInternational Criminal Tribunal for RwandaThe International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
, 2003–April 2011(Dismissed by ICTR)
External links
- Family Members Fear for Life of Jailed US Attorney Peter Erlinder in Rwanda – video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...