Rwanda

Community-based gacaca courts have helped communities confront the country’s 1994 genocide but have failed to provide credible decisions and justice in a number of cases, Human Rights Watch said in a report.

Jean Bosco Gasasira is charged with “spreading rumours that incited civil disobedience”, “insulting the president” and “deliberately violating the country’s media law”.

ARTICLE 19 commends the initiative to develop a dedicated law on this subject but at the same time expresses concern about the creation of a series of criminal offences which could see persons making ‘bad faith disclosures’ jailed for extensive periods.

The bill sets out progressive standards on access to information, including a strong public interest test and short time frames for government bodies to respond to requests for information.

Bernard Ntaganda was sentenced to four years in jail on charges of endangering national security, “divisionism” and attempting to organise demonstrations without authorisation.

Agnes Uwimana Nkusi and Saidath Mukakibibi are charged with inciting civil disobedience, causing divisions and denying the 1994 genocide.

At a recent Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), Rwandan Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama accepted that there was an immediate need for a review of several laws that restrict freedom of expression in the country.

Journalists Agnès Uwimana Nkusi and Saidath Mukakibibi are being tried on a range of charges including genocide denial, inciting public disorder, insulting the president and spreading false rumours.

The prosecutor has called for long prison terms for editors Agnès Uwimana and Saidati Mukakibibi on charges related to the publication of opinion pieces in the weekly “Umurabyo”.

Presidential security adviser Richard Rutatina accused editor Nelson Gatsimbazi of working with “enemies of the state” during a forum on human rights.

The political parties of detainees Victoire Ingabire and Bernard Ntaganda have been critical of the government and were not allowed to run in recent presidential elections.

Press freedom violations, including the closure of media outlets and the murder of a newspaper editor, have intensified in the run-up to the election, RSF said.

Agnès Uwimana was taken into custody over allegations that her paper had published stories “inciting the public to disobey”, and “articles related to division and ethnicity”.

The submission describes the current legal challenges to free expression and highlights the dangerous atmosphere for journalists and other critics of the government.

“The burden is on the Rwandan government to conduct a thorough, transparent investigation and to produce credible results,” CPJ said.

JED notes that Rugambage and his newspaper had been harassed by the authorities for several months.