De-mediatizing the media case. Elements of a critical approach

The Judgment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the Media case focuses on the responsibility of three individuals charged on the basis of their control of a radio channel and a newspaper in Rwanda. Due to overt freedom of speech issues relating to this Judgment, it was immediately mass-mediatized. This article analyses the case from a purely legal perspective, focusing on the issue of ‘how’ the Judges determined the culpability of individuals for crimes concerning the media’s influence in the preparation and execution of mass crimes. Some critical elements appear in this perspective, including: the (il)legitimacy of the extension of jurisdiction ratione temporis; the (in)opportunity to establish the mens rea of an inchoate offence via the actus reus of a non-inchoate offence; the (un)certain distinction between forms of direct and indirect participation; and the (in)determination of the criteria applied to reduce the sentence against one of the accused (as a form of reparation for the violation of procedure by the Prosecutor).