KIGALI, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A Rwandan court has ordered the provisional release of a defence investigator of a U.N. court probing the 1994 genocide who has been accused of bribing witnesses and "minimising" the extent of the slaughter.

Rwandan authorities in June arrested Leonidas Nshogoza, who works at the Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICRT), set up to prosecute architects of the genocide, in which Hutu extremists killed some 800,000 people.

But ICRT defence lawyers have argued the charges undermine their rights and independence, and leave them prone to similar prosecution. They had demanded his unconditional release.

Rwandan prosecution spokesman Jean Bosco Mutangana said Nshogoza had been "released provisionally" while judgment in his case was adjourned, allowing the prosecution more time to study an immunity application raised by the defence.

"We had asked the court to give more time to study immunity issues raised by the defence, but the court decided anyway to release him temporarily," Mutangana said.

The case has highlighted tensions between the U.N. court and Rwanda, where many believe the expensive tribunal has not done enough to find the culprits of the 1994 massacres.

The court has sentenced 29 people since 1997.

With a total budget of about $1 billion, each completed case at the court in Arusha, north Tanzania, has cost the world about $31 million, according to ICTR figures given to media.

(Reporting by Arthur Asiimwe; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)

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