Rwandan Genocide Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

Rwanda's former deputy intelligence chief Idelphonse Nizeyimana sits in the dock at the International Criminal Tribunal, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009 in Arusha, Tanzania.One of the top suspects in the 1994 Rwandan genocide has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

Idelphonse Nizeyimana entered the plea Wednesday during his first appearance before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

The defendant is a former intelligence officer and army captain who prosecutors accuse of helping to organize the genocide in Rwanda's Butare province.

He was captured by police in Uganda nine days ago and handed over to the Tanzania-based tribunal after living as a fugitive for 15 years.

The tribunal has charged him with four counts of genocide and crimes against humanity.

No date for his trial has been set.

Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates during the 1994 genocide.

Nizeyimana's indictment says soldiers acting under his orders took part in massacres of both Tutsis and Hutus. It says Nizeyimana also set up special units to kill Tutsi intellectuals and the symbolic queen of Rwanda.