Rwanda
15.05.01
Urgent Interventions
Rwanda: Arbitrary arrest of six men
Case RWA 150501
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Rwanda.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme, a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest of six people in Rwanda.
According to the information received, six people have been arbitrarily arrested, allegedly by the Rwandan authorities, between the 24th and 30th of April 2001, reportedly near the Rwanda-Uganda border, and have been detained at an unknown location ever since. They include: Emmanuel Mudenge (a lawyer and official of the Ruhengeri General Prosecution Department); Alfred Bandora (lawyer, Kigali General Prosecution Department official); Kalim Tushabe (Assistant Public Prosecutor, Kigali Republican Prosecution Department); Sebusoni Gasana (law student, National University of Rwanda, Butare); Kalisa (economist, Private Sector Federation official); and Hubert Gatsinzi (lawyer, Rwanda Revenue Authority official).
According to the information received, when asked about the arrest of the three magistrates during an interview with local newspaper Umuseso, Rwandan Justice Minister Jean de Dieu Mucyo reportedly claimed that his Ministry was unaware of any information concerning these arrests. The detainees' families are also reportedly unaware of their whereabouts.
OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of all six men, given the current situation in Rwanda, in which disappearances and arbitrary arrests are reportedly currently on the increase.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Rwanda urging them to:
1. locate the detainees and take all necessary measures to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
2. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
3. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
4. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
- Major Général Paul Kagame, Président de la République, Présidence de la République, BP 15, Kigali, Rwanda. Fax: +250 82321 or +243 888 5689
- Colonel Emmanuel Habyarimana, Ministre de la Défense, Ministère de la Défense, BP 23, Kigali, Rwanda. Fax :(+ 250) 72431 ou (+ 250) 76969
- M. Jean de Dieu Mucyo, Ministre de la Justice et des Relations institutionnelles, Ministère de la Justice, BP 160 Kigali,Rwanda. Fax: (+ 250) 865 09
- M. Gasana Ndoba, Président de la Commission National des Droits de l'Homme, BP 269, Kigali, Rwanda. Fax:(+ 250) 82702
Please also write to the embassies of Rwanda in your respective country.
Geneva, May 15, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Rwanda.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme, a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest of six people in Rwanda.
According to the information received, six people have been arbitrarily arrested, allegedly by the Rwandan authorities, between the 24th and 30th of April 2001, reportedly near the Rwanda-Uganda border, and have been detained at an unknown location ever since. They include: Emmanuel Mudenge (a lawyer and official of the Ruhengeri General Prosecution Department); Alfred Bandora (lawyer, Kigali General Prosecution Department official); Kalim Tushabe (Assistant Public Prosecutor, Kigali Republican Prosecution Department); Sebusoni Gasana (law student, National University of Rwanda, Butare); Kalisa (economist, Private Sector Federation official); and Hubert Gatsinzi (lawyer, Rwanda Revenue Authority official).
According to the information received, when asked about the arrest of the three magistrates during an interview with local newspaper Umuseso, Rwandan Justice Minister Jean de Dieu Mucyo reportedly claimed that his Ministry was unaware of any information concerning these arrests. The detainees' families are also reportedly unaware of their whereabouts.
OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of all six men, given the current situation in Rwanda, in which disappearances and arbitrary arrests are reportedly currently on the increase.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Rwanda urging them to:
1. locate the detainees and take all necessary measures to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
2. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
3. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
4. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
- Major Général Paul Kagame, Président de la République, Présidence de la République, BP 15, Kigali, Rwanda. Fax: +250 82321 or +243 888 5689
- Colonel Emmanuel Habyarimana, Ministre de la Défense, Ministère de la Défense, BP 23, Kigali, Rwanda. Fax :(+ 250) 72431 ou (+ 250) 76969
- M. Jean de Dieu Mucyo, Ministre de la Justice et des Relations institutionnelles, Ministère de la Justice, BP 160 Kigali,Rwanda. Fax: (+ 250) 865 09
- M. Gasana Ndoba, Président de la Commission National des Droits de l'Homme, BP 269, Kigali, Rwanda. Fax:(+ 250) 82702
Please also write to the embassies of Rwanda in your respective country.
Geneva, May 15, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.