During a January 10, 2024, hearing at the court of appeal in the capital Kigali, Niyonsenga said that he was held under “inhumane” conditions in a “hole” and was frequently beaten, according to media reports and court documents reviewed by CPJ. Niyonsenga, who also goes by Cyuma Hassan, appeared in court with a head wound and said that his hearing and vision were impaired by the conditions of his detention, according to those sources. Niyonsenga’s lawyers also told the court that prison officials seized documents he needed to further prepare his case.
“Dieudonné Niyonsenga was convicted following a trial whose irregularities exposed the political nature of his prosecution. Now Rwandan authorities compound the injustice by mistreating him behind bars and frustrating his efforts to have his case reviewed,” said CPJ sub-Saharan Africa Representative, Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities should unconditionally release Niyonsenga, investigate his painful testimony of torture and detention under hellish conditions, and hold those responsible to account.”
The court postponed the case until February 6 to give Niyonsenga, who is seeking review of what he terms an unfair trial, more time to consult his lawyers.
Niyonsenga published commentary and news reports on the YouTube channel Ishema TV, which is no longer available online, and was initially arrested in April 2020, following allegations that he had breached Rwanda’s COVID-19 stay-at-home order, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau said at the time in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He was later tried on charges of forging a press card, impersonating a journalist, and hindering the implementation of government-ordered work as well as humiliating authorities. The latter is a crime repealed in Rwanda in 2019, as CPJ has documented.
Niyonsenga was acquitted and freed in March 2021. However, he was convicted on those same charges in November 2021 and taken into state custody after prosecutors appealed, according to CPJ’s documentation. Shortly afterwards Rwanda’s National Prosecution Authority posted on X, saying that Niyonsenga’s prosecution on the repealed charge of humiliating authorities was an “error” that it would appeal to have corrected.
In March 2022, an appeal court upheld Niyonsenga’s conviction on charges of forgery and impersonation but overturned the conviction on humiliating authorities, according to media reports and court documents reviewed by CPJ. The court did not make any specific pronouncement on the charge of obstruction, according to the court documents.
CPJ’s January 29 emails to the Rwandan ministry of justice and correctional services had not received any responses by publication time.
Editor’s note: This report has been updated to remove a reference to the number of years Niyonsenga says he spent in a ‘hole’ and to correct the date that CPJ emailed the Rwandan ministry of justice.
Authorities said that Ntwali died on January 18 in a road accident in the Rwandan capital Kigali, but CPJ and other human rights and press freedom groups have called for a credible probe into the circumstances, which remain unclear. Ntwali, who edited the privately owned newspaper The Chronicles and founded the YouTube channel Pax TV-Ireme News, was repeatedly threatened for his reporting.
A hasty trial that concluded in February, in which a driver was convicted and fined for involvement in the road accident, suggests that Rwandan authorities have not fulfilled their legal obligation to investigate effectively, the organizations noted.
The full statement is available in English and French.
]]>Authorities said that Ntwali died on January 18 in a road accident in Kigali. However, the organizations note, “two weeks after the alleged accident, Rwandan authorities have failed to provide a police report, the exact location of the alleged accident, any photo or video evidence, or detailed information on the others involved in it.”
Ntwali, editor of the privately owned newspaper The Chronicles and founder of the YouTube channel Pax TV-Ireme News, frequently received threats in connection to his critical journalism. Given Rwanda’s failure to investigate past “suspicious deaths of political opponents or high-profile critics,” the organizations call for international experts on arbitrary killings to be involved in the investigation.
]]>Police said that Ntwali was killed in the early morning of January 18 in Kigali, the capital, after a car hit a motorcycle taxi he was riding, according to news reports, which said that police arrested the driver of that car.
Ntwali reported critically on governance and human rights issues in Rwanda on the YouTube-based outlet Pax TV-Ireme News, which he founded, and worked as an editor for the privately owned newspaper The Chronicles. He had repeatedly received threats over his work, according to news reports.
After his death, Human Rights Watch quoted one of the journalist’s friends saying Ntwali had survived “staged accidents” in Kigali. The BBC quoted an attendee of Ntwali’s funeral saying that unidentified people had previously tried to hit a motorcycle the journalist was riding.
“Given the frequent and grave threats that John Williams Ntwali faced for his journalism, Rwanda has a duty to provide a credible explanation for his death,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal, in New York. “The current information available about his case leaves many questions unanswered. Authorities should also allow the involvement of U.N. and African Commission experts on extrajudicial killings in the investigation to bolster its credibility.”
A few days before his death, Ntwali aired a report on Pax TV-Ireme News, which has about 30,000 followers on YouTube, about the imprisonment of The Chronicles founder Christopher Kayumba, who is also a Rwandan politician. Ntwali also recently covered the plight of political prisoners in Rwanda, and allegations that detained YouTubers had faced torture behind bars.
That Human Rights Watch report said that Ntwali had told the organization in June 2022 that members of Rwanda’s intelligence agency ordered him to “change your tone” or else he would “see what happens.”
When asked for comment, Rwanda government spokesperson Yolande Makolo sent CPJ a link to a tweet saying that eight people had died in motorcycle taxi accidents in January, and that “groundless insinuations” did not help the case.
The U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America quoted a local journalist saying that he was with Ntwali on the evening of January 17, and that Ntwali seemed cautious and was worried about being surveilled.
In a separate interview with VOA, Ntwali’s widow said she last saw him on the afternoon of January 17, and he texted her that evening saying he was on a motorcycle, but was unreachable after sending that message.
When CPJ contacted the Rwandan National Police for comment via messaging app, a representative said police could not comment because the case had been referred to prosecutors. CPJ emailed the National Public Prosecution Authority for comment and sent queries via messaging app, but did not receive any replies.
CPJ also emailed the Rwandan Ministry of Interior for comment but did not receive any reply.
Authorities previously detained Ntwali for 10 days in 2007 over his coverage of events linked to Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and held him again in 2016 on rape charges, which were later dropped and which the journalist said were retaliation for his investigative work.
]]>“We are greatly relieved that the court has recognized the charges against Damascene Mutuyimana, Shadrack Niyonsenga, and Jean Baptiste Nshimiyimana as baseless. Finally, these journalists can go home to their families,” said CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. “However, the four years that these journalists lost behind bars are a great injustice, underscoring the willingness of Rwandan authorities to abuse judicial systems to the detriment of the press. A repeat of such injustice should not be allowed, and all those other journalists who remain behind bars in Rwanda for their work should be released without delay.”
On Wednesday, October 5, a court in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, acquitted the three journalists of charges of spreading false information with the intention of creating a hostile international opinion of Rwanda, publishing unoriginal statements or pictures, and inciting insurrection, according to reports by BBC News Gahuza and Reuters. One of their lawyers, Jean Paul Ibambe, confirmed to CPJ that the journalists were released from Nyarugenge Prison in Kigali on Wednesday evening, following the acquittal. The journalists were held in pre-trial detention until their trial started in August 2021. Earlier this year, prosecutors requested that they be sentenced to 22 years and five months in prison.
At least four other journalists, most of them YouTube-based, remain detained in Rwanda.
]]>Authorities arrested Damascene Mutuyimana, Shadrack Niyonsenga, and Jean Baptiste Nshimiyimana, reporters for the YouTube-based outlet Iwacu TV, in October 2018, and charged them with spreading false information with the intention of creating a hostile international opinion of Rwanda, publishing unoriginal statements or pictures, and inciting insurrection, according to CPJ research and court documents reviewed by CPJ.
Their trial started in August 2021 and concluded on July 15, 2022, according to those court documents and reports by the BBC and the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America. During that trial, prosecutors requested the journalists be imprisoned for 22 years and five months, according to those sources, which said a verdict is expected in the case on September 15.
“Rwandan authorities have already imprisoned a team of Iwacu TV reporters for nearly four years without convicting them of any crime. The prosecution’s request that they spend more than two decades in prison is shocking,” said CPJ’s sub–Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities should not compound the cruelty already meted out on these journalists, and should instead do the right thing by releasing Damascene Mutuyimana, Shadarack Niyonsenga, and Jean Baptiste Nshimiyimana unconditionally.”
Prosecutors say that Mutuyimana, Niyonsenga, and Nshimiyimana, who were all accredited as journalists at the time of their arrest, used headlines and pictures that did not reflect the substance of videos they posted on Iwacu TV’s YouTube channel, according to those media reports and court documents.
The BBC reported that authorities accused the journalists of fabricating an image showing Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former Rwandan army chief living in exile as an opposition figure, together; that report said the journalists asserted that they had simply shown images of people mentioned in their reporting.
Prosecutors also cited videos published on Iwacu TV between June and September 2018, including commentary and reporting on a 2018 armed attack in southern Rwanda; allegations that Uganda and Burundi were supporting rebels; a claim that war was imminent amid political tensions with Uganda; and discussion of the Education Ministry’s policy on education for pregnant minors, according to those court documents and CPJ’s research.
The journalists previously told officials that their videos collated news from other media sources, and sometimes gave them sensationalist or exaggerated headlines to attract audiences, but denied publishing false information or having malicious intent, according to CPJ research and the court documents. The outlet’s YouTube channel has about 210,000 followers.
Convictions for publishing modified images or statements without explicitly stating that such publications are not original can carry up to one year in prison and a fine of up to 5 million Rwandan francs (US$4,770); spreading false information with the intent to create a hostile international opinion of Rwanda can carry up to 10 years during peacetime and life imprisonment during times of war; inciting insurrection or trouble can carry up to 15 years, according to Rwanda’s 2012 penal code.
In preliminary hearings, the courts ruled that the journalists could face trial under the 2012 code, even though it had been replaced in 2018, according to those court documents and CPJ’s research. The 2018 penal code permits officials to use the older law for offenses said to be committed before it came into force.
According to CPJ’s most recent prison census, a snapshot of journalists behind bars on December 1, 2021, Rwanda was the third-worst jailer of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, with seven members of the press held for their work.
CPJ called and sent requests for comment via messaging app to Rwandan public prosecutor spokesperson Faustin Nkusi, but did not receive any replies. CPJ also emailed the national public prosecutor’s office, Justice Minister Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, and the ministry’s permanent secretary, Mbonera Théophile, but did not receive any responses.
Editor’s note: The spelling of Jean Baptiste Nshimiyimana’s name has been corrected in the second paragraph.
]]>The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which brings together the leaders of Commonwealth nations for meetings every two years, is scheduled to be held in Rwanda from June 20 to 25. Foreign correspondents’ access to cover the event is controlled by the Commonwealth Secretariat, while the Rwandan government is responsible for the accreditation of domestic media, according to an email from the Commonwealth’s press office reviewed by CPJ.
On Wednesday, June 15, the Commonwealth Secretariat informed Benedict Moran, a Canadian journalist who has reported on Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s alleged involvement in war crimes and Kagame and the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front’s alleged disinformation campaigns targeting government critics, that his application to cover the summit had been denied, according to news reports and Moran, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app and email.
The secretariat also denied the application of Anjan Sundaram, the author of the book Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship about the destruction of free speech in Rwanda, who had applied to cover the summit as part of Moran’s production company, Sundaram told CPJ via email.
Separately, several other foreign correspondents told CPJ that, despite filing their applications for accreditations before the May 23 deadline, they had still not received permission to cover the events as of Friday, June 17. Those correspondents spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear that speaking out could jeopardize their accreditations’ last-minute approval.
“The Commonwealth Secretariat should reverse its decision to deny accreditation to journalists Benedict Moran and Anjan Sundaram to cover next week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda, and should ensure that all journalists who wish to cover the event are given unfettered access,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “It is also very concerning that several journalists who applied for accreditations have yet to receive a reply at this late stage. The secretariat must inform them immediately.”
The Commonwealth Secretariat told Moran that his and Sundaram’s applications had been denied because they were not working for “recognized media outlets,” Moran said, adding that he had previously been granted access to report from Rwanda for his production company.
Sundaram called that explanation “absurd,” noting that he had written for The New York Times, The Guardian, Politico, The Observer, and Foreign Policy. Moran has contributed to PBS Newshour, The New Yorker, The Mail and Guardian, Al-Jazeera, National Geographic, and other outlets, he said.
In an emailed statement to CPJ, a Commonwealth spokesperson said that “suggestions that there is any attempt to limit media access to [the summit] don’t hold up to scrutiny.”
The statement said that “over 700 journalists are being accredited” to cover the summit, but did not respond to CPJ’s questions asking for a breakdown of the number of accreditations that had been approved, denied, and were pending.
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that my application to cover the forum was rejected. In Rwanda, any critical voices are locked away or scared into silence,” Moran told CPJ. “So many Rwandans have fled, or died, trying to uphold the values upheld in the Commonwealth Charter, not only from past Rwandan governments, but from its current one.”
“It is a travesty that Commonwealth heads of state will hear only good news, and be able to express themselves freely in Kigali, when Rwandan journalists, academics, musicians and politicians have been killed for exercising the same basic right,” Sundaram said.
Rwandan government spokesman Yolande Makolo told CPJ via messaging app that the government only accredits domestic journalists, and said a list of journalists approved for accreditation by the secretariat and provided to the Rwandan government did not include Moran or Sundaram’s names.
Asked whether the Rwandan government had the right to veto a name on the list, Makolo said, “Not to my knowledge.”
CPJ joined 23 other civil society organizations on June 10 in calling on Commonwealth leaders to urge Rwanda to respect human rights and allow the media to freely cover the summit.
CPJ’s most recent prison census, a snapshot of journalists detained as of December 1, 2021, showed that Rwanda was one of the worst jailers of journalists in Africa, with at least seven behind bars.
[Editors’ note: This article has been changed to correct the spelling of Anjan Sundaram’s name.]
]]>The organizations note that there have been “relentless harassment, attacks, and threats” against civil society groups and the media in Rwanda, and call on Commonwealth leaders to urge Rwandan authorities to take concrete measures to respect human rights, including by releasing detained journalists and creating an “enabling environment for activists, bloggers and journalists to freely express their views.”
The letter also says the Rwandan media should be allowed to freely cover the CHOGM, and to raise human rights concerns without reprisal.
CPJ’s most recent prison census, a snapshot of journalists detained as of December 1, 2021, showed that Rwanda was one of the worst jailers of journalists in Africa, with at least seven behind bars.
]]>On October 13, security personnel arrested Nsengimana, who runs the YouTube channel Umubavu TV Online, according to tweets by the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), a law-enforcement body, and an interview with his wife, Chantal Umwari, published by the YouTube channel Ishema TV.
Authorities have charged Nsengimana with membership in a criminal group, dissemination of propaganda aimed at harming the Rwandan government abroad, spreading rumors, and inciting unrest, according to media reports, documents related to the case, which CPJ reviewed, and a person familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity citing safety concerns.
The charges stem from a video published on Nsengimana’s YouTube channel the day before his arrest, which announced plans to air programming on October 14 as part of an event to commemorate the plight of political prisoners in Rwanda, according to those sources.
As of today, Nsengimana remains detained at the Remera Police Station in the capital, Kigali. He appeared in court on October 28 and November 2, and a bail decision is expected on November 5, according to news reports.
“By detaining journalist Théoneste Nsengimana, the Rwandan government is exposing its intolerance for commentary that critically covers issues of public interest and airs dissenting voices,” said CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities should immediately release Nsengimana, drop all the charges filed against him, and cease harassing journalists for their work.”
Authorities say that the video and the October 14 event — which organizers called “Ingabire Day” — were part of a larger plot by members of the unregistered opposition party DALFA-Umurinzi to overthrow the government of Rwanda, according to the documents reviewed by CPJ. Authorities allege that DALFA-Umurinzi party members formulated that plot in September discussions about Blueprint for a Revolution, a book about nonviolent activism, according to those documents, which stated that Nsengimana did not attend those discussions.
Members of DALFA-Umurinzi and associates of that party’s leader, Victoire Ingabire, are among Nsegimana’s co-defendants, according to the RIB’s tweets, multiple media reports, a statement by the party, and Ingabire, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Ingabire told CPJ that Nsengimana planned to feature her in a political debate on his channel during the October 14 event.
Umubavu Online TV publishes reporting and commentary on Rwandan politics, including interviews with opposition figures; its videos have received about 16 million total views, according to CPJ’s review of the channel.
Prosecutors allege that the October 12 video posted on Umubavu Online TV spread falsehoods and aimed to incite the public by accusing the government of political killings and arbitrary detentions, according to those documents, which say that authorities also considered the planned October 14 programs to be part of a plot by DALFA-Umurinzi to overthrow the government.
If convicted of publishing rumors, Nsengimana could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 3 million Rwandan francs (US$3,000) under Rwanda’s 2018 cybercrimes law. Under Rwanda’s penal code, Nsengimana also faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of inciting unrest, up to 10 years in prison if convicted of being a member of a criminal group, and up to 10 years if convicted of spreading propaganda to harm the international reputation of Rwanda’s government.
Previously, in April 2020, Nsengimana was arrested and detained for several weeks on allegations of fraud, part of a broader wave of arrests of journalists reporting critically during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to media reports.
CPJ emailed the Rwanda Investigation Bureau and the National Public Prosecution Authority for comment, but did not receive any reply. When CPJ called the Rwanda Investigation Bureau, a person answered the phone and said he would respond to CPJ’s emailed questions, but had not done so by the time of publication, and did not answer subsequent calls and a request sent via messaging app.
Faustin Nkusi, the spokesperson of Rwanda’s National Public Prosecution Authority, did not respond to phone calls or messages from CPJ seeking comment.
]]>“While it is certainly good news that Dieudonné Niyonsenga and Fidèle Komezusenge have been acquitted and freed in Rwanda, they never should have been arrested in the first place, and it is a grave injustice that courts entertained a baseless case against them for nearly a year,” said CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. “Rwandan authorities should ensure that Niyonsenga and Komezusenge can continue with their work without harassment, and free all other journalists held for their work.”
On April 15, 2020, authorities in Kigali arrested Niyonsenga, also known as Hassan Cyuma, who owns and reports for the YouTube channel Ishema TV, and Komezusenge, a driver with the outlet, for allegedly breaching COVID-19 lockdown orders, as CPJ documented at the time; they were later charged with forgery, impersonation, and hindering the implementation of government-ordered work.
On March 12, the Gasabo Intermediate Court in Kigali acquitted them on all charges, and Niyonsenga and Komezusenge were freed on March 13, according to Gatera Gashabana, Niyonsenga’s lawyer, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and news reports.
At least five journalists, including Niyonsenga, were jailed for their work in Rwanda as December 1, 2020, according to CPJ’s latest prison census.
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