Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned Théophile Ntirutwa's conviction for 'spreading false information or harmful propaganda with intent to cause a hostile international opinion against the Rwandan Government' by the High Court's Rwamagana on December 16, 2022. Human Rights Watch said his conviction as a Rwandan opposition politician for allegedly tarnishing the country's image is an example of the government's longstanding abuse of the justice system to stifle freedom of expression and association.
January 19, 2023Human Rights Watch has condemned Théophile Ntirutwa's conviction for"spreading false information or harmful propaganda with intent to cause a hostile international opinion against the Rwandan Government" by the High Court's Rwamagana on December 16, 2022.
“It’s all the more astounding because Rwanda currently chairs the Commonwealth, which holds itself out as a champion of rule of law and good governance.” Ntirutwa was convicted based on phone calls he made to his party's leader, Victoire Ingabire, and a journalist in which he claimed the incident was an assassination attempt against him by armed police and military.
Sharing false information would not be a sufficient reason to criminalise freedom of expression. The Rwandan government routinely employs this provision of the penal code to prosecute opposition members, critics, and even refugees who have protested food ration cuts. The trial of 10 people related to “Ingabire Day,” an event scheduled for October 14, 2021, by Dalfa-Umurinzi to discuss, among other things, political repression in Rwanda, is ongoing. Nine defendants are party members, and the tenth is Théoneste Nsengimana, a journalist who was planning to cover the event. Nsengimana and eight of the party members are in Mageragere prison, in Kigali; one is in hiding.
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