By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KIGALI, Rwanda – On October 30, 2012, Rwanda’s top opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire, was sentenced to eight years in prison for treason and genocide denial, charges stemming from the infamous 1994 Rwandan Genocide.

Ingabire was charged with six offenses.  The first three were linked to “terrorist acts”. The remaining three were linked to her public criticism of the government in the period before the 2010 presidential elections.

In 2010, Ingabire returned to Rwanda after a 16 year exile in the Netherlands following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide . Upon visiting the genocide memorial, Ingabire asked why Hutus killed in the violence were not recognised like the minority Tutsis were.

The Rwandan court found her guilty of two of her six charges: treason for conspiring war against the country by sending money to Hutu extremists, and Rwandan genocide belittling based on her statements and criticisms. She was sentenced to eight years in prison despite the prosecution asking for a life sentence.

The 1994 Rwandan genocide claimed more than 500,000 Rwandan lives, mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Because of the massive bloodshed driven by ethnic identity clashes, the new military government set out to de-emphasize Hutu and Tutsi ethnicity. Today, many Rwandans identify themselves simply as a Rwandan, instead of Hutu or Tutsi.

Martin Ngoga, the government’s chief prosecutor said that Ingabire’s genocide belittling conviction was not simply a free-speech issue. The government feared that through her statements, Ingabire would rekindle the ethnic  divide and incite Rwanda “to once more explode” as it did in 1994.

The government also accused Ingabire – who has had contacts with the FDLR, a group of Hutu fighters in Congo – of trying to raise an armed group, a charge Ingabire denied.

Human Rights Watch said the guilty verdict was the culmination of a flawed trial that included politically motivated charges.

“The Rwandan government has a legitimate responsibility to prevent the kind of hate speech and incitement to ethnic violence that led to the genocide in 1994,” said Daniel Bekele of Human Rights Watch. “However, the responsibility to prevent violence should not be used as an excuse for stifling criticism or prohibiting discussion of certain events – nor should it be invoked as a pretext for delaying democratic reforms.” Bekele continued.

Ingabire believes that the true reason for her arrest is that she dared to run in the presidential election as a candidate for the opposition party, challenging the sitting president, Paul Kagame. Kagame is the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, whose military victory ended the genocide in Rwanda. He has been the president of Rwanda since 1994.  His final presidential term ends in 2017.

Ingabire is appealing the conviction.

 

For further information, please see:

Zimbio – Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire, Sentenced to 8 years in Jail – October 31, 2012

All Africa – Rwandan Opposition Leader Receives Eight-Year Sentence – 31 October 2012

Al Jazeera – Rwanda Jails Opposition Leader for ‘Treason’ – 30 October 2012

BBC – Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire Jailed – 30 October 2012