Human Rights Watch publishes this Tuesday, October 10, an edifying report on the extraterritorial repression carried out by Rwanda. In this document of around a hundred pages, the NGO asserts that the authorities in Kigali have created a climate of fear among Rwandan nationals living in exile.
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According to Human Rights Watch, “ the Rwandan government actively seeks to discredit its critics based abroad “. In an edifying report published this Tuesday and titled “Join us or you will die.” Extraterritorial repression exercised by Rwanda “, the association highlights ” violence, judicial mechanisms and intimidation [perpétrés par les autorités rwandaises] in an attempt to silence criticism from Rwandans living around the world “.
More than a dozen cases of murders, kidnappings, attempted kidnappings, forced disappearances and physical attacks targeting Rwandans living abroad have been documented since 2017 by the NGO, which interviewed with more than 150 people living in Africa and the rest of the world.
“ There are people who are killed in very specific and very vague circumstances, until today. Of course, there are cases that have been well and truly known since 2010, cases like Kayumba Nyamwasa, which are really targeted by actors who come from Kigali. There are other cases, not very public. And so far, there are definitely indications that it comes from Rwanda “, says Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
“ There are kidnappings, or attempted kidnappings, carried out in Africa, the United States, and Mozambique. We spoke with some people who told us that they “tried to look for me and catch me”they openly told him: “Now, we are going to take you to Kigali, you will see, we will see if you are really loyal to us, and to our program”. There are also people in Europe or Australia, where it will be difficult for the Rwandan government to plan a kidnapping. On the other hand, it is their families in Rwanda who are being targeted now. »
Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch