Rwanda: Activists in Detention
Rwandan Authorities Should Free Them or Lodge Charges

(New York, January 31, 2002) -- Rwandan authorities should make public
any charges against two Catholic lay figures arrested over the weekend
and release them promptly if there is no adequate legal reason for their
detention.

Laurien Ntezimana worked for reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi
before and after the genocide that killed at least half a million Tutsi
in 1994. Didace Muremangingo, a young survivor of the genocide, more
recently joined Ntezimana in publishing a local journal called Ubuntu.

Arrested by police, the two were then transferred to the Butare central
prison. Local judicial authorities say warrants were issued for their
arrest on a matter related to their journal but refused to explain
further.

Ubuntu has used the term ubuyanja, a term meaning rebirth of strength or
energy, in some of its articles. Ntezimana has reportedly been
questioned by authorities about the use of this term in the past. The
term appears in the name of a political party which former Rwandan
president Pasteur Bizimungu attempted to organize in June 2001. Rwandan
authorities immediately declared the party illegal. In December 2001 one
of the organizers of the party was murdered in mid-day in Kigali. No one
has been arrested for the crime. Bizimungu and others associated with
the party have been detained and interrogated by the authorities several
times in the last few months; and Bizimungu and one of his associates
were attacked by street gangs in August 2001.

“If all these men have done is publish a word that authorities don’t
like, they should be freed immediately,” said Alison Des Forges, senior
adviser to the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. “To do otherwise
violates the freedom of expression that the Rwandan government has vowed
to protect and suggests a troubling move towards political repression.”

For further information, please contact:

In Berkeley, CA: Alison Des Forges: +1-510-665-5401
In Brussels: Jean-Paul Marthoz: +32-2-732-2009
In New York, Jeff Scott: +1-212-216-1834

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Africa Division
Human Rights Watch
New York Office
http://hrw.org/africa/index.php