Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Rwanda.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Rwanda. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the courtroom. Perhaps your paper might focus on some of
the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures, starvation, thirst,
sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing water. On the other hand, you might choose to
write about the people acting in an official capacity who perpetrate such
cruelty. There is a lot to the subject
of Torture by Authorities. Scan other
countries as well as this one. Draw
comparisons between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Rwanda U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/rwanda/
[accessed 5 August
2021] DISAPPEARANCE There were several
reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities. In June Venant Abayisenga went missing.
Abayisenga was a member of DALFA-Umurinzi, an unregistered opposition party under the
leadership of government critic Victoire Ingabire. The government failed
to complete investigations or take measures to ensure accountability for
disappearances that occurred in 2019 and 2018 such as those of Eugene Ndereyimana and Boniface Twagirimana. There were reports
the Rwanda Defense Force’s (RDF) military intelligence personnel were
responsible for disappearances, illegal detention, and torture. Some
advocates reported that RDF intelligence personnel took suspected political
opponents to unofficial detention centers where they were subject to beatings
and other cruel and degrading treatment with the purpose of extracting
intelligence information. TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT Human rights
advocates continued to report instances of illegally detained individuals
tortured in unofficial detention centers. Advocates including HRW claimed
that military, police, and intelligence personnel employed torture and other
forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment to obtain information and
forced confessions, which in some cases resulted in criminal convictions.
Some defendants in addition alleged in court they had been tortured while in
detention to confess to crimes they did not commit, but there were no reports
of any judges ordering an investigation into such allegations or dismissing
evidence obtained under torture, and there were no reported prosecutions of
state security forces personnel for torture. PRISON AND DETENTION
CENTER CONDITIONS Conditions were generally
harsh and life threatening in unofficial detention centers. Reports from
previous years indicated individuals detained at such centers suffered from
limited access to food, water, and health care. Conditions were
often harsh and life threatening at district transit centers holding street
children, street vendors, suspected drug abusers, persons engaged in
prostitution, homeless persons, and suspected petty criminals. Overcrowding
was common in police stations and district transit centers. Human rights
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported authorities at district transit
centers frequently failed to adhere to the requirements of a 2018 ministerial
order determining the “mission, organization, and functioning” of transit
centers. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/rwanda/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 15 May
2020] F3. IS THERE PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE
USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR AND INSURGENCIES? Both ordinary
criminal suspects and political detainees are routinely subjected to torture
and other ill-treatment in custody. Extrajudicial executions of suspected criminals
by security personnel still occur with some frequency. Disappearances,
physical assaults, and assassinations targeting journalists, opposition
members, and other regime critics have been reported in recent years,
including in 2019. UN
anti-torture team cancels Rwanda visit, again Ivan R. Mugisha, The East African, 16 July 2018 [accessed 17 July
2018] The United Nations
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) has cancelled its mission to
Rwanda after suspending the visit last October. The UN body accuses
Kigali of lack of cooperation. "In 11 years
of exercising its mandate and more than 60 visits, it is the first time the
SPT is terminating a visit before its completion. There was no realistic
prospect of the visit being successfully resumed and concluded within a
reasonable timeframe," the agency said in a statement on July 4. Human
Rights Commission given more responsibilities Emmanuel Ntirenganya, The New Times, 21 January 2018 www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/228017/ [accessed 22 January
2018] The National Human
Rights Commission has been given more responsibilities and power to access
any place where torture against a person is assumed, under the draft law
approved by cabinet on Friday. Such suspected places include prisons,
psychiatric hospitals, courts, among others. Speaking during a
post cabinet press conference yesterday, Johnston Busingye,
the Minister for Justice and Attorney General said the decision by the cabinet
means that the Commission has particular rights, responsibilities and power
to prevent, fight torture, protect, defend strive for people’s rights and
ensuring that anyone involved gets punished. Submission
to the Committee Against Torture: Rwanda -- 62nd session of the Committee
Against Torture Human Rights Watch,
14 November 2017 www.hrw.org/news/2017/11/14/submission-committee-against-torture-rwanda [accessed 14
November 2017] Human Rights Watch
has closely monitored human rights in Rwanda for over 20 years. Torture and
ill-treatment have been persistent problems in Rwanda and have been
perpetrated with near impunity.
Between 2010 and 2016, scores of people suspected of collaborating
with “enemies” of the Rwandan government were detained unlawfully and
tortured in military detention centers by Rwandan army soldiers and
intelligence officers. Some of these people were held in unknown locations,
including incommunicado, for prolonged periods and in inhuman conditions. Severe beatings,
electric shocks, asphyxiation and mock executions were used to force suspects
to confess, or to incriminate others. Former detainees were held for up to
nine months in extremely harsh and inhuman conditions, with insufficient food
and water to meet their basic needs. Human Rights Watch received allegations
that some detainees were killed, but we were unable to verify these
reports. In many cases, after several
months of illegal detention—and often only after detainees had signed a
statement under torture—the Rwandan authorities transferred them to official
detention centers, including civilian prisons, and they were then charged and
put on trial. The period of their detention in military centers was erased
from the public record. Unlawful
Military Detention, Torture Beatings,
Asphyxiations, Electric Shocks, Mock Executions to Extract Confessions Human Rights Watch,
10 October 2017 www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/10/rwanda-unlawful-military-detention-torture [accessed 23
November 2017] In most cases, victims
were interrogated, ill-treated or tortured, and forced to sign confessions,
often based on fabricated allegations, while they were victims of an enforced
disappearance. They were then eventually taken before prosecutors, who often
pressured suspects to confirm their confessions and, to the best of Human
Rights Watch’s knowledge, did not investigate alleged abuses during
detention. Some detainees were released as suddenly and as arbitrarily as
they had been arrested, often in groups, without any charges or judicial
procedure. Many said that
torture sessions began immediately when they arrived at the military
detention center. Many were handcuffed while soldiers slapped and punched
them or beat them with sticks. “[When we arrived] at Kami, I was still blindfolded,”
one former detainee said. “They told me to lie on the ground. Two soldiers
stood on me, one on my head and one on my feet. They stood on me and beat me.
Then they made me curl up into a ball, tied me up, and pulled my legs and
arms. They did this for hours and kept telling me to confess.” If the suspect
failed to give the soldiers the answers they wanted, the beatings continued,
often several times a day. Other detainees described asphyxiation, electric
shocks, mock executions, and tying objects to men’s genitals. Some detainees’
hands were handcuffed to their legs for months on end, with soldiers only
taking the handcuffs off so the men could use the toilet. Many former
detainees told Human Rights Watch, prosecutors, or judges that they signed
false statements because they could not stand the torture or believed they
would die. Human
Rights Watch World Report 2015 - Events of 2014 Human Rights Watch,
29 January 2015 www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/...
or
www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2015_web.pdf [accessed 18 March
2015] RWANDA UNLAWFUL DETENTION
AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES - Dozens of people were held unlawfully, incommunicado
in the military Camp Kami and other detention centers, some for several weeks
or months. Some were tortured and pressured to confess to alleged crimes or
to incriminate others. Some of these detainees were later tried on
security-related charges. From March to time of writing, at least 30 people
were reported missing, many in northwestern Rwanda. Some were arrested by
state agents and taken to unknown destinations. After several weeks, some of
the disappeared reappeared in police detention and were transferred to
civilian prisons. Some were among a group of 16 people who appeared before a
court in Rubavu in June, accused of endangering
state security and collaborating with the FDLR. Government authorities did
not acknowledge their unlawful detention or account for their whereabouts
during the preceding period, failings which render their detentions enforced
disappearances. In a speech on June 5, President Kagame
said authorities would continue to arrest suspects and, if necessary, shoot
in broad daylight those intending to destabilize the country. Throughout the
year, hundreds of men, women, and children—many of them street children,
commercial sex workers, or street hawkers—were detained unlawfully, without
charge or trial, in very poor conditions in an unrecognized detention center
commonly known as Kwa Kabuga, in the Gikondo area
of Kigali. Many were beaten by police, or by other detainees in the presence
of police. Rwanda: Shrouded
in Secrecy - Illegal Detention and Torture by Military Intelligence
[PDF] Amnesty
International, International Secretariat, UK, 2012 www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR47/004/2012/en/ca2e51a2-1c3f-4bb4-b7b9-e44ccbb2b8de/afr470042012en.pdf [accessed 9 April
2014] www.amnesty.at/de/view/files/download/showDownload/?tool=12&feld=download&sprach_connect=34 [accessed 29 August
2016] Amnesty
International AI, 8 October 2012, Index number: AFR 47/004/2012 www.amnesty.org/en/documents/AFR47/004/2012/en/ Download the Report at www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/16000/afr470042012en.pdf [accessed 13 January
2019] SUMMARY - This report
details unlawful detention, torture and other forms of ill-treatment and
enforced disappearances, mostly of civilians, at the hands of Rwanda’s
military intelligence, known as J2. It is based on information gathered
during more than two years of research, including seven visits to Rwanda. The
report documents more than 45 cases of unlawful detention and 18 allegations of torture or other
ill-treatment by Rwandan military intelligence in 2010 and 2011. Some
individuals who were disappeared remain in secret detention in 2012. Amnesty International believes that the
actual number of people who were detained and who were at risk of, or
subjected to, torture and other ill-treatment during this period is higher
than those documented here. Conclusions and
recommendations of the Committee against Torture
U.N. Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment -- Doc. CAT/C/RWA/CO/1
(2012) www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/observations/rwanda2012.html [accessed 5 March
2013] Allegations of
torture and ill-treatment 10. The Committee
expresses its concern about allegations of torture that has occurred in some
detention facilities in the State party, in particular reports of 18 cases of
torture and ill-treatment (such as severe beatings and electric shocks)
during interrogations by Rwanda military intelligence in the Kami and Kinyinga camps, and by other security personnel in
“unlawful places,” including the mistreatment of political prisoners, notably
Bertrand Ntaganda, Célestin
Yumvihoze, Dominique Shyirambere
and Victoire Ingabire
(arts. 2, 11, 12 and 13). Report on secret
detention centres 11. The Committee,
though noting the statement by the delegation denying the existence of
detention in secret places, nevertheless expresses its concern about reports
of detainees held in “unofficial detention centres”
without having been charged of a crime or brought before a court, nor having
access to independent lawyers and to a doctor. The Committee is concerned at
the reported 45 cases of unlawful detention in military camps and other
alleged secret detention facilities in 2010 and 2011, where the time of
detention ranged from 10 days to two years without the provision of legal
safeguards (arts. 2, 11 and 12). Fundamental legal
safeguards 12. While noting
that fundamental legal safeguards for detainees are provided for in the
legislation of the State party, the Committee is concerned at reports that with
regard to detainees held in police stations, prisons or other detention
facilities, fundamental legal safeguards are not systematically applied in
accordance with international standards. The Committee is particularly
concerned that detainees can allegedly be held for a long period in pretrial
detention without appearing before a judge, and that they do not have access
to a lawyer or a doctor of their choice or to an independent medical
examination, in accordance with international standards. In addition, they do
not have the right to notify a family member or a relative. The Committee is
further concerned at the lack of a centralized registration system of those
deprived of their liberty (art. 2). Coerced confessions 23. While noting
information in the State party’s report that evidence obtained through
torture or any cruel or degrading method is prohibited, the Committee is
concerned about reports that individuals charged with threatening national
security and detained at Kami or Mukamira military
camps as well as in “safehouses” in Kigali had made
confessions due to beatings and torture. The Committee is particularly
concerned that judges did not require investigations into such cases but
placed the burden of proof on the persons charged (art. 15).. World Report
2012: Rwanda Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/world-report-2012-rwanda [accessed 11
February 2013] TRIALS LINKED TO
2010 GRENADE ATTACKS
- Twenty-nine people were tried in connection with a series of grenade
attacks in Rwanda in 2010 and previous years. Most of the defendants plead
guilty. Several stated in court that they had been illegally detained in
military detention for several months and tortured. AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL From an old article -- URL not available Article was
published sometime prior to 2015 IMPUNITY – The government
failed to investigate and prosecute cases of illegal detention and allegations
of torture by Rwandan military intelligence. In May and October, Amnesty
International published evidence of illegal and incommunicado detention and
enforced disappearances. The research included allegations of torture,
including serious beatings, electric shocks and sensory deprivation used to
force confessions during interrogations, mostly of civilians, in 2010 and
2011. In May, the
government categorically denied all allegations of illegal detentions and torture
by Rwandan military intelligence before the UN Committee against Torture. In
June, the Rwandan Minister of Justice acknowledged that illegal detentions
had occurred, attributing them to operatives’ “excessive zeal in the
execution of a noble mission”. On 7 October, the government issued a
statement reaffirming that illegal detentions had taken place, but made no
reference to investigations or prosecutions. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For more
articles:: Search Amnesty
International’s website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=rwanda+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 13 January 2019] Scroll
Down ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61587.htm [accessed 11
February 2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61587.htm [accessed 5 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – The law
prohibits torture; however, during the year a local NGO reported that an
official committed acts of torture in the Nyamirambo
Sector of Kigali City's Nyamirambo District. In
addition another local NGO reported that it received approximately 96 clients
each month who requested assistance for torture victims; however, an
undetermined number of these victims may have been tortured during the
genocide. During the year there were fewer reports of police officers abusing
suspects; however, police officers sometimes reportedly beat suspects at the
time of arrest. In addition the National Human Rights Commission, created by
the National Assembly in 1999, reported that the government operated secret,
illegal detention centers (in Kibungo Province, for
example); however, although the Senate was expected to investigate these
reports, they had not been confirmed by year's end. There were numerous
reports that police arrested, detained, and beat members of Jehovah's
Witnesses because they refused--on religious grounds--to participate in nighttime
security patrols (see section 2.c.). During the year police reportedly beat
at least 12 Jehovah's Witnesses while they were in police custody. However,
according to the Jehovah's Witness National Executive Council, prison and
detention center beatings of Jehovah's Witnesses were less numerous than in
the previous year. All
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webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century-
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