KIGALI, RWANDA, JUN 15 (ZENIT.org)

    A Rwandan court has acquitted Bishop Augustin Misago of genocide charges, ruling that he played no part in the killings of 1994. The prosecutors were pushing for the death penalty, and the aging bishop has spent many months in a severely overcrowded prison awaiting this trial.

    "All accusations against Misago have been dropped. Misago is free. Misago has won the trial," said Criminal Court Judge Jariel Sekarusu in the capital, Kigali.

    The Bishop Misago's trial ended last month, with the prosecution calling for his execution, but the bishop received the backing of the Pope and other senior Vatican officials who said the trial was part of a long-running campaign against the Catholic church in Rwanda.

    Since the country began its genocide trials in 1996, more than 2,500 suspects have been tried and more than 300 sentenced to death. ZE00061521

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