75. The Court considers that the Applicant's ability to communicate in English should be assessed against his behaviour and the purpose of each of the processes referred to. The Applicant does not dispute the fact that the purpose of being assisted by an interpreter during the police interview, committal proceedings and preliminary hearing is to understand the charges being brought against him and be able to plead and take part in the process accordingly. The Court is of the view that, at such stages of the proceedings, the said purpose does not require one to have an outstanding mastery of the English language. 76.ln that respect, the Court first notes that the Applicant himself indicates in his statement given to the police in the English language that, at the time of arrest, he had been an intern at the ICTR for over a year. Secondly, the statement reveals that the Applicant was expressly told that he was being interrogated in relation to the murder of his wife. To that effect, he gave a statement of over fifteen (15) pages in English in which he expressly responded that he understood the purpose of the interrogation and did not need the assistance of anyone to give it. He also read through the statement, confirmed the contents thereof and signed it. Finally, on several occasions, during the committal proceedings and the preliminary hearing, the Applicant who was then assisted by a lawyer, was read over the same charges, pleaded guilty, did not raise any issue regarding his statement and signed the outcome of the processes together with his lawyer after these were served on them. 77. Against these undisputed facts, the reasonable conclusion is that the Applicant had the minimum understanding required to make decisions on whether and how he should participate in the proceedings and possibly object to any part thereof. This Court is of the view that by not objecting, the Applicant understood the processes and agreed to the manner in which they were being conducted. The Applicant did not point to any part of the proceedings where he expressly objected and demanded the presence of an interpreter. During the trial, he only pointed to the fact that the statement had eleven (11) pages instead of five (5). However, the Applicant in the same paragraph stated that he recognised the statement as his and signed it H 17 See Record of Proceedings, High Court of Tanzania at Moshi, Criminal Case No. 40 of 2007, page 129, lines 20 to 24. 21