jMali
JF-Expert Member
- Nov 9, 2010
- 8,412
- 5,013
Dear Commissioner,
Subject:
Sharp deterioration of prison conditions of Ms. Victoire Ingabire
Since Friday, July 10, 2015, the management of the central prison in Kigali decided to severely tighten the prison regime of Madame Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Chair of FDU Inkingi, without any explanation. Today 14[SUP]th[/SUP] July 2015 the prison management proceeded on closing every place that can allow light into her cell.
Last Friday, the prison management refused her lawyer Gatera the authorization to meet her for consultation, on the grounds that he had nothing more to do at the prison since his client has already been sentenced. However it is public knowledge that Mrs Victoire Ingabire has lodged an appeal to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights[1], which has yet to fix a hearing date. In this regard it does not make any sense to refuse the lawyer access to his client Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.
The management of the prison at the same time, confiscated all her books, including the Church hymns book. It must be noted that she had obtained them with the authorisation of the prison management.
The guards prevented Mrs. Victoire Ingabire from talking to the party cadres who bring her food, threatening to punish her if she did talk to them. It is quite evident that for someone already detained in solitary confinement these measures amount to mental torture in violation of the international convention against torture[2] to which Rwanda is a contracting party.
Since Saturday, July 11, 2015, Mrs. Ingabire sought an audience with the management of the prison to find out the reasons behind these draconian measures taken against her. The manager flatly refused to talk to her.
FDU Inkingi takes the opportunity to remind prison management that even prisoners are entitled to a minimum of rights[3]. In witness whereof FDU-Inking calls on the prison management to lift those measures or at the very least provide an explanation for those measures.
Kigali July 14, 2015
For FDU INKINGI
Boniface Twagirimana
1[SUP]er[/SUP] Vice-President
Copy:
WHAT GAME DO RWANDAN PRISON AUTHORITIES PLAY WITH REGARDS TO THE CONDITIONS OF DETENTION Mrs. VICTOIRE INGABIRE?
July 31, 2015
PRESS RELEASE
Last Friday, 24/07/2015, for the second consecutive time, the management of the central prison of Kigali, where the chair of FDU Inkingi is held in detention, refused Mr. Gatera Gashabana the permission to meet his client alleging, in the same pattern of earlier reasons, that her case was closed. Reached by telephone, the RCS spokesperson confirmed the refusal to the lawyer and ordered him to write a new application for certification, in Kinyarwanda.
Yet the prison authorities had put out exonerating statements saying that the allegations in our press release of 14 July 2015 were false.
Besides the first refusal to visit handed down to Mr. Gatera Gashabana, we had denounced the deterioration of the conditions of detention of the chair of FDU-Inkingi Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, which were exacerbated by completely painting black the windows of her detention cell to prevent any ray of light to get in.
We would like to recall that following the unjust sentence of 15 years, Mrs. Ingabire made an appeal to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the Rwandan government cannot ignore it, since it has even appointed its lawyer to the said trial and has responded to the request brought forth by her accusation.
FDU Inkingi once again denounce this hide and seek game of the authorities, which, once they are under media pressure, declare that Victoire Ingabire has access to her lawyer, which is an inalienable right, but throw out her appointed lawyer at their very first opportunity. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior is nothing but the reflection of a politicized justice, unable to rise to the level of acceptable international standards.
Done at Kigali this July 28, 2015
For FDU Inkingi
Boniface Twagirimana
1st Vice President
THE LATEST EPISODE IN THE PSHYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL TORTURE OF FDU-INKINGI LEADERSHIP Mrs. VICTOIRE INGABIRE AND SIBOMANA SYLIVAIN
August 13, 2015 18:55 Politics
PRESS RELEASE
In our earlier press release of the 28th July 2015 we informed you of the harsh conditions that the prison authorities had imposed on FDU-Inkingi Chair Mrs Victoire Ingabire. The conditions included denying her access to her lawyer who is representing her in her appeal to the African Human and People Rights Court.Despite the fact that the government was quite aware of the representation and had responded to the Court's request and that there has been exchange of memos between Victoire lawyer and the government, the government has asked the lawyer to make a new application to meet his client, Victoire Ingabire in prison. Despite this anomaly the lawyer still made a new application to visit Mrs Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza but has not received any response.
From the 11th of August 2015, the prison authorities, in an attempt to humiliate her and threaten her, have introduced a new directive that her food must be examined by intelligence service agents to ensure that there is no drug or any other item that is hidden in her food. Up to this date the search was being done by prison guards. This time around the intelligence agents, use their own forks that are not trusted in meeting food hygiene requirements. Worse still the food is turned up and down and mixed up to make it look eventually like the food served to pigs. Mrs Ingabire has obviously refused to eat such food.
It is clear that the prison authorities are determined to refuse her getting food from outside prison and yet this had been agreed for medical reasons.
At the same time the Secretary General of FDU-Inkingi Sylvain Sibomana is suffering the same fate. Due to medical reasons he was also getting food from outside the prison. The medical certificate no 1003/08/201 was duly issued by a competent medical doctor. However for no valid reasons the Gasabo prison authorities have stopped him getting the food from outside of prison and therefore, Sylvain has not received food since Friday 7th August 2015.
FDU INKINGI condemns again in the strongest terms possible the RPF regime for the torture of FDU-Inkingi leadership in violation of fundamental human rights and of the International convention against torture, unhuman and degrading treatment of persons including prisoners.
Done in Kigali 11/08/2015
Boniface Twagirimana
1st Vice president of FDU-Inkingi
PDF : RWANDA THE LATEST EPISODE IN THE PSHYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL TORTURE OF FDU-INKINGI LEADERSHIP
Subject:
Sharp deterioration of prison conditions of Ms. Victoire Ingabire
Since Friday, July 10, 2015, the management of the central prison in Kigali decided to severely tighten the prison regime of Madame Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Chair of FDU Inkingi, without any explanation. Today 14[SUP]th[/SUP] July 2015 the prison management proceeded on closing every place that can allow light into her cell.
Last Friday, the prison management refused her lawyer Gatera the authorization to meet her for consultation, on the grounds that he had nothing more to do at the prison since his client has already been sentenced. However it is public knowledge that Mrs Victoire Ingabire has lodged an appeal to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights[1], which has yet to fix a hearing date. In this regard it does not make any sense to refuse the lawyer access to his client Mrs. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.
The management of the prison at the same time, confiscated all her books, including the Church hymns book. It must be noted that she had obtained them with the authorisation of the prison management.
The guards prevented Mrs. Victoire Ingabire from talking to the party cadres who bring her food, threatening to punish her if she did talk to them. It is quite evident that for someone already detained in solitary confinement these measures amount to mental torture in violation of the international convention against torture[2] to which Rwanda is a contracting party.
Since Saturday, July 11, 2015, Mrs. Ingabire sought an audience with the management of the prison to find out the reasons behind these draconian measures taken against her. The manager flatly refused to talk to her.
FDU Inkingi takes the opportunity to remind prison management that even prisoners are entitled to a minimum of rights[3]. In witness whereof FDU-Inking calls on the prison management to lift those measures or at the very least provide an explanation for those measures.
Kigali July 14, 2015
For FDU INKINGI
Boniface Twagirimana
1[SUP]er[/SUP] Vice-President
Copy:
- Hon Minister of Justice
- Ombudsman
- Commissioner for Human Rights
- Prosecutor General
- Embassies (all)
WHAT GAME DO RWANDAN PRISON AUTHORITIES PLAY WITH REGARDS TO THE CONDITIONS OF DETENTION Mrs. VICTOIRE INGABIRE?
July 31, 2015
PRESS RELEASE
Last Friday, 24/07/2015, for the second consecutive time, the management of the central prison of Kigali, where the chair of FDU Inkingi is held in detention, refused Mr. Gatera Gashabana the permission to meet his client alleging, in the same pattern of earlier reasons, that her case was closed. Reached by telephone, the RCS spokesperson confirmed the refusal to the lawyer and ordered him to write a new application for certification, in Kinyarwanda.
Yet the prison authorities had put out exonerating statements saying that the allegations in our press release of 14 July 2015 were false.
Besides the first refusal to visit handed down to Mr. Gatera Gashabana, we had denounced the deterioration of the conditions of detention of the chair of FDU-Inkingi Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, which were exacerbated by completely painting black the windows of her detention cell to prevent any ray of light to get in.
We would like to recall that following the unjust sentence of 15 years, Mrs. Ingabire made an appeal to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the Rwandan government cannot ignore it, since it has even appointed its lawyer to the said trial and has responded to the request brought forth by her accusation.
FDU Inkingi once again denounce this hide and seek game of the authorities, which, once they are under media pressure, declare that Victoire Ingabire has access to her lawyer, which is an inalienable right, but throw out her appointed lawyer at their very first opportunity. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior is nothing but the reflection of a politicized justice, unable to rise to the level of acceptable international standards.
Done at Kigali this July 28, 2015
For FDU Inkingi
Boniface Twagirimana
1st Vice President
THE LATEST EPISODE IN THE PSHYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL TORTURE OF FDU-INKINGI LEADERSHIP Mrs. VICTOIRE INGABIRE AND SIBOMANA SYLIVAIN
August 13, 2015 18:55 Politics
PRESS RELEASE
In our earlier press release of the 28th July 2015 we informed you of the harsh conditions that the prison authorities had imposed on FDU-Inkingi Chair Mrs Victoire Ingabire. The conditions included denying her access to her lawyer who is representing her in her appeal to the African Human and People Rights Court.Despite the fact that the government was quite aware of the representation and had responded to the Court's request and that there has been exchange of memos between Victoire lawyer and the government, the government has asked the lawyer to make a new application to meet his client, Victoire Ingabire in prison. Despite this anomaly the lawyer still made a new application to visit Mrs Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza but has not received any response.
From the 11th of August 2015, the prison authorities, in an attempt to humiliate her and threaten her, have introduced a new directive that her food must be examined by intelligence service agents to ensure that there is no drug or any other item that is hidden in her food. Up to this date the search was being done by prison guards. This time around the intelligence agents, use their own forks that are not trusted in meeting food hygiene requirements. Worse still the food is turned up and down and mixed up to make it look eventually like the food served to pigs. Mrs Ingabire has obviously refused to eat such food.
It is clear that the prison authorities are determined to refuse her getting food from outside prison and yet this had been agreed for medical reasons.
At the same time the Secretary General of FDU-Inkingi Sylvain Sibomana is suffering the same fate. Due to medical reasons he was also getting food from outside the prison. The medical certificate no 1003/08/201 was duly issued by a competent medical doctor. However for no valid reasons the Gasabo prison authorities have stopped him getting the food from outside of prison and therefore, Sylvain has not received food since Friday 7th August 2015.
FDU INKINGI condemns again in the strongest terms possible the RPF regime for the torture of FDU-Inkingi leadership in violation of fundamental human rights and of the International convention against torture, unhuman and degrading treatment of persons including prisoners.
Done in Kigali 11/08/2015
Boniface Twagirimana
1st Vice president of FDU-Inkingi
PDF : RWANDA THE LATEST EPISODE IN THE PSHYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL TORTURE OF FDU-INKINGI LEADERSHIP
