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(Nairobi)– Rwanda Crackdown on the opposition, the media and Civilized Society Ahead of general elections scheduled for July 15, 2024, authorities should ensure that all Rwandans can express their views freely, exercise their right to vote fairly and peacefully, and release those arbitrarily detained, including for politically motivated reasons, Human Rights Watch said today.
Fourteen members of the unregistered Darfa-Umurinzi opposition party, as well as four journalists and critics, are currently in jail. Several are awaiting trial – some have been in pretrial detention for more than two years – while others have been convicted of crimes that violated international human rights norms. At least five opposition party members, as well as four critics and journalists, have died or disappeared under suspicious circumstances since the country’s last presidential election in 2017.
“The threat of physical harm, arbitrary judicial proceedings and lengthy prison sentences that often result in torture have effectively deterred many Rwandans from engaging in opposition activities and holding political leaders accountable,” he said. Clementine de MontjouilleSenior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Authorities should end arbitrary detention and protect the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, which are essential for truly free and fair elections.”
Three candidates Running for President: Incumbent President Paul Kagame (Rwandan Patriotic Front, RPF); Frank Habineza (Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, DGPR); and independent candidate Philip Mpayimana. When the same candidates registered in 2017, both Habineza and Mpayimana said they had been harassed. threatenand the intimidation he received after announcing his candidacy. Mpayimana won 0.73% of the vote, while Habineza won 0.48%.
During President Kagame’s decades in power, government authorities committed numerous human rights violations against members of the political opposition, journalists, and other critics, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and ill-treatment, and violations of the rights to freedom of expression and association. Suspicious Death and MissingThe violence is rarely met with justice, creating an environment where many fear they will be targeted if they speak out. Most registered political parties broadly support the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front.
The Electoral Commission has banned People’s Salvation Movement (PSM) leader Diane Rwigara from running. From running She is accused of not submitting the correct documents to support her candidacy in the 2024 elections. Rwigara was arrested after the 2017 elections – she was also disqualified from running – and her mother Adeline was also arrested. They were all released Released on bail in October 2018. He was later acquitted The charges include sedition and, by Diane Rwigara, forgery and falsification of documents. Human Rights Watch Establishment Both charges appear to be politically motivated.
Victoire Ingabire’s Development and Freedom for All Party (Développement et Liberté pour tous, also known as Dalfa-Umurinzi) has been banned from registration. Dalfa-Umurinzi, formerly known as the United Democratic Forces (FDU)-Inkingi, has faced serious challenges since 2010. The party has not been allowed to register or participate in elections, and its members have been arrested, imprisoned and harassed on numerous occasions. Since 2017, five members of the party have been Death or Disappeared In suspicious circumstances.
In 2010, the party chairwoman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sedition for attempting to run in the presidential election. She had already served eight years of that sentence. Her release In September 2018, Kagame pardoned more than 2,000 prisoners. In March 2024, a Kigali court rejected Ingabire’s Ask for permission to run for election In the 2024 presidential election.
Christopher Kayumba was chronicle Newspaper, yes Arrested In 2021, shortly after founding a new political party, the Rwanda Democratic Platform (RPD), he was acquitted of rape and “sexual misconduct” and released in February 2023. However, in November 2023, Kayumba Convicted on appeal He was sentenced to two years’ probation. claim Government officials threatened to “eliminate” him through criminal means if he did not cease his political activities.
Rwanda’s electoral law states that only “people of integrity” can stand as candidates, and anyone convicted of “separatism,” “genocide or genocidal ideology” or other crimes punishable by more than six months in prison are not allowed to run.
The 14 members of the Ingabire gang who were detained include 8 people have been detained before trial Since October or December 2021. Another Missing in prisonHuman Rights Watch monitored the trials of opposition members and others during which defendants told courts that interrogators tortured them to extract confessions.
Rwanda’s civil society is weak because Years of state intimidation and interferenceThis has made it largely impossible for Rwandan human rights groups to publicly document abuses by state agents. Foreign researchers and journalists have been banned from entering the country, including a senior Human Rights Watch researcher. Trying to get to Kigali Meeting to be held in May 2024.
A Draft BillThe bill, which has been considered by parliament, could impose severe restrictions on the operations and activities of civil society. Currently, the bill gives the government the power to deny registration to organizations and restrict the operations of groups that “commit acts that are harmful to the unity, peace and security of Rwanda, public order and public health, good morals and conduct, political activities or the freedoms and fundamental rights of others.” The bill would give government agencies oversight and decision-making powers over the finances and activities of organizations. The bill follows the adoption of a ministerial order in 2022 that imposed similar restrictions on the work of trade unions.
While some private radio stations occasionally broadcast programs on politically sensitive issues, the official government’s view dominates domestic media and almost all election coverage. already dead or Disappeared Some are in questionable circumstances, while others have fled the country since 2017. Journalists using YouTube as a platform have also be accused Not registered with the Rwanda Media Commission, or Posting contradictory information The government’s explanation of certain events, e.g. Suspicious Deaths in Custody Kizito Mihigo, a gospel singer and activist, or Missing Government opponents.
On April 3, UN experts on arbitrary detention, freedom of expression, physical and mental health, human rights defenders and torture Write to the Rwandan government The cases of two journalists, Dieudonné Niyonsenga and Théoneste Nsengimana, and a Dalfa-Umurinzi member, Théophile Ntirutwa, were raised, all of whom are in prison.
The experts said the prosecution and detention of the three men appeared to be directly linked to their work as journalists, human rights defenders and, in the case of Ntirutwa, his outspoken criticism of the Government. Reports that she was unable to visit him Human Rights Watch was unable to independently verify the circumstances or reasons for the denial of visitation rights.
constitution, Revised 2015limiting presidential terms to five years, with only one re-election, and a seven-year transition period starting in 2017. The bill also resets the term limits for incumbent presidents. It allows Kagame to Running for a third seven-year term in 2017 It would allow him to run for two five-year terms in 2024 and 2029, with the possibility of extending his rule until 2034.
“Rwanda’s president and senior officials, including in the judiciary, should immediately and publicly condemn the abuses and release all those detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms,” de Monjoye said. “There is still time for Rwanda to change course and allow political opponents to freely criticize government policies and propose new ideas.”
A non-exhaustive list of cases documented by Human Rights Watch:
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