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Ghahraman accused of hypocrisy over defence of Rwandan genociders

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Wed, 29 Nov 2017, 11:20AM
Golriz Ghahraman with Simon Bikind, who was accused of genocide. (Photo / Twitter)

Ghahraman accused of hypocrisy over defence of Rwandan genociders

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Wed, 29 Nov 2017, 11:20AM

A challenge to Golriz Ghahraman from the former Labour staffer accusing her of being a Genocide denier.

The Green MP has come under fire for defending war criminals when she was an intern lawyer on the Rwandan tribunal.

A photo showing her smiling with Simon Bikindi, who was sent to jail in 2008 for inciting genocide has added fuel to the fire.

Ghahraman says a trial without a defence team wouldn't be a trial, and her work was still contributing to the accountability process.

Former Labour staffer Phill Quinn, who's lived in Rwanda for three years, said a simple statement from Ghahraman could clear up the matter.

"That she accepts, there was a genocide against the Tutsis of Rwanda in 1994 that lead to the deaths of between 800,000 and 1 million people, and that the people that she defended were rightfully convicted.

"In all these cases she appears to have gone out of her way to find ways to get genociders off the hook. That couldn't be more in stark contrast to the energy she's projected of a saviour of victims."

LISTEN TO PHIL QUIN TALK WITH LEIGHTON SMITH ABOVE

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