http://www.jambonews.net/en/news/20130501-rwanda-witnesses-renounce-the-prosecution-in-the-case-of-victoireingabire/

Rwanda: Witnesses renounce the prosecution in the case of Victoire Ingabire

 

May 1st, 2013 | By Jane Nishimwe | Category: Top news

After having testified against opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza in Rwandan High court last year, four prosecution witnesses told the Supreme Court on this 29^th of April that their testimonies were falsified and Ingabire's political party FDU-INKINGI never aimed at the formation of a ''Coalition of Democratic Forces (CDF) military wing''.

A few days into the appeal trial of Ingabire, former FDLR members and co-accused Lieutenant-Colonel Tharcisse Nditurende, Lt Colonel Noël Habiyaremye, Captain Jean Marie Vianney Karuta and Major Vital Uwumuremyi told the Supreme Court that they ''have never been members of such organization [the CDF], because it had never existed'', according to the press release published on this 29^th of April by Twagirimana Boniface, Acting Vice-President of FDU-Inkingi.

Lieutenant-Colonel Nditurende admitted to have contacted Ingabire for ''financial support'' but says she ''never responded positively''. Regarding the prosecution's evidence of e-mails in which he and Ingabire talked about the CDF, Nditurende revealed to the Supreme Court thatthe Ministry of Justice ''forced him'' to reveal the password of his e-mail account during his detention, thereby gaining ''free access'' to amend his messages.

In the first instance trial, the four witnesses pleaded guilty to conspiring with Victoire Ingabire to form the CDF armed group and affirmed that her aim was to ''cause insecurity in Rwanda and force the government into peace talks by waging war''.All four received ''lenient'' sentences for co-operating with the court: Vital Uwumuremyi was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months, Tharcisse Nditurende and Noël Habiyaremye to 3 years and 6 months, and Jean Marie Vianney Karutato to 2 years 7 months.

Controversial detention

In March 2013, Human Rights' organization Amnesty International released its report Justice in jeopardy: The first instance trial of Victoire Ingabire in which it expressed concerns about the ''prolonged incommunicado detention'' of Ingabire's co-accused, stating that it had ''documented allegations of the use of torture to coerce confessions'' in the detention Camp Kami where Nditurende and Habiyaremye were held before appearing in court. A defence witness also said that he and Uwamuremyi were held together at Camp Kami and the ''terrorism-related accusations against Victoire Ingabire were fabricated under coercion from state security''.

On the 25^th of March this year, Victoire Ingabire started her appeal trial after being sentenced to 8 years in prison for ''genocide ideology'' and ''conspiracy against the government by use of war and terrorism'' on the 30^th of October 2012. In its conviction, the High Court relied greatly on the confessions of the four witnesses.

Jane Nishimwe

Jambonews.net

http://www.jambonews.net/en/news/20130501-rwanda-witnesses-renounce-the-prosecution-in-the-case-of-victoireingabire/

Rwanda: Witnesses renounce the prosecution in the case of Victoire Ingabire

 

May 1st, 2013 | By Jane Nishimwe | Category: Top news

After having testified against opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza in Rwandan High court last year, four prosecution witnesses told the Supreme Court on this 29^th of April that their testimonies were falsified and Ingabire's political party FDU-INKINGI never aimed at the formation of a ''Coalition of Democratic Forces (CDF) military wing''.

A few days into the appeal trial of Ingabire, former FDLR members and co-accused Lieutenant-Colonel Tharcisse Nditurende, Lt Colonel Noël Habiyaremye, Captain Jean Marie Vianney Karuta and Major Vital Uwumuremyi told the Supreme Court that they ''have never been members of such organization [the CDF], because it had never existed'', according to the press release published on this 29^th of April by Twagirimana Boniface, Acting Vice-President of FDU-Inkingi.

Lieutenant-Colonel Nditurende admitted to have contacted Ingabire for ''financial support'' but says she ''never responded positively''. Regarding the prosecution's evidence of e-mails in which he and Ingabire talked about the CDF, Nditurende revealed to the Supreme Court thatthe Ministry of Justice ''forced him'' to reveal the password of his e-mail account during his detention, thereby gaining ''free access'' to amend his messages.

In the first instance trial, the four witnesses pleaded guilty to conspiring with Victoire Ingabire to form the CDF armed group and affirmed that her aim was to ''cause insecurity in Rwanda and force the government into peace talks by waging war''.All four received ''lenient'' sentences for co-operating with the court: Vital Uwumuremyi was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months, Tharcisse Nditurende and Noël Habiyaremye to 3 years and 6 months, and Jean Marie Vianney Karutato to 2 years 7 months.

Controversial detention

In March 2013, Human Rights' organization Amnesty International released its report Justice in jeopardy: The first instance trial of Victoire Ingabire in which it expressed concerns about the ''prolonged incommunicado detention'' of Ingabire's co-accused, stating that it had ''documented allegations of the use of torture to coerce confessions'' in the detention Camp Kami where Nditurende and Habiyaremye were held before appearing in court. A defence witness also said that he and Uwamuremyi were held together at Camp Kami and the ''terrorism-related accusations against Victoire Ingabire were fabricated under coercion from state security''.

On the 25^th of March this year, Victoire Ingabire started her appeal trial after being sentenced to 8 years in prison for ''genocide ideology'' and ''conspiracy against the government by use of war and terrorism'' on the 30^th of October 2012. In its conviction, the High Court relied greatly on the confessions of the four witnesses.

Jane Nishimwe

Jambonews.net

Rwanda: The case against Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza falls apart as prosecution witnesses admit their testimonies were framed

http://www.fdu-rwanda.com/en/

Rwanda: The case against Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza falls apart as prosecution witnesses admit their testimonies were framed.

Kigali, 29th April 2013

On the 8th day of Ingabire's appeal, the Supreme Court heard the prosecution witnesses namely Lieutenant-Colonel Tharcisse Nditurende, Lt Colonel Noël Habiyaremye, Captain Jean Marie Vianney Karuta and Major Vital Uwumuremyi. They all criticized the prosecution's case especially in regard to the formation of an armed organization.

These witnesses had pleaded guilty in the High Court to have formed a military organization, the CDF which allegedly was to be a military wing of FDU-INKINGI. They affirm they have never been members of such organization because it has never existed. Mrs Victoire Ingabire's conviction by the High Court was based on these confessions.

With regard to talks that these witnesses would have had with Madam Ingabire, Tharcisse Nditurende declared that they contacted Ingabire to see if she could be of any use to them, but she never responded positively, especially that she was more concerned about her intention to return to Rwanda and to enter political scene. He added that he immediately realized that he could not expect anything from someone who wanted to return to Rwanda.

Nditurende declared that the help they needed was not to form a military wing of the FDU, but financial support in order to withstand attacks from their fellow FDLR and from the Congolese army.

Coming back to the e-mails, Tharcisse Nditurende told the Supreme Court that during his detention, the Ministry of Justice had forced him to reveal his password so they could have free access to his email account. However, this could not be possible without the Attorney General's authorisation as Ingabire's defense counsel has emphasized.

Ingabire's defense counsel had questioned the authenticity of these messages, because the investigators had access to the email account of the co-defendants, and that they could make them up. It also noted many contradictions in their content.

Meanwhile, like Mrs Ingabire, Major Uwumuremyi Vital has asked the court to take into account the agreement between Rwanda and the DRC under the auspices of the UN, which states, among other things, that the ex – FDLR fighters, who would lay down their arms or be repatriated following Umoja Wetu operations, would not be prosecuted for acts committed in the DRC, with the exception of crimes of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity that were already the subject of an arrest warrant issued by Rwanda or by the international community.

All these former FDLR combatants wrapped up their hearings by asking the court to do justice to them and to decrease punishment inflicted on them by the High Court in violation of the law as argued by their counsel.

All along her trial, the Defence of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza had told the court that the so called CDF armed group never existed and that the idea was merely invention of the State to put Mrs Ingabire behind bars and to stop her from running in presidential elections. It is noteworthy to recall the statement made President Kagame in an interview with "Monitor Newspaper" Managing Editor DANIEL KALINAKI in May 2010, three months before presidential elections. I quote:

"This woman will certainly be where she belongs. She was charged in the court of law, she's now out on bail but the matters are serious and are there as a matter of fact. How then do I explain myself or for this country beyond that? Now the outsiders who want so badly Ingabire to be an opposition leader here or later on be our president, well, they may wait for a while".

Now that the "serious matters" are more no more than a concoction of the State we are still to see how independent the Supreme Court will be as a guarantor of the rule of law.

FDU-INKINGI
Twagirimana Boniface
Interim Vice-President

FDU-CEP-04-29-13-ENG 

Rwanda: The case against Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza falls apart as prosecution witnesses admit their testimonies were framed

http://www.fdu-rwanda.com/en/

Rwanda: The case against Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza falls apart as prosecution witnesses admit their testimonies were framed.

Kigali, 29th April 2013

On the 8th day of Ingabire's appeal, the Supreme Court heard the prosecution witnesses namely Lieutenant-Colonel Tharcisse Nditurende, Lt Colonel Noël Habiyaremye, Captain Jean Marie Vianney Karuta and Major Vital Uwumuremyi. They all criticized the prosecution's case especially in regard to the formation of an armed organization.

These witnesses had pleaded guilty in the High Court to have formed a military organization, the CDF which allegedly was to be a military wing of FDU-INKINGI. They affirm they have never been members of such organization because it has never existed. Mrs Victoire Ingabire's conviction by the High Court was based on these confessions.

With regard to talks that these witnesses would have had with Madam Ingabire, Tharcisse Nditurende declared that they contacted Ingabire to see if she could be of any use to them, but she never responded positively, especially that she was more concerned about her intention to return to Rwanda and to enter political scene. He added that he immediately realized that he could not expect anything from someone who wanted to return to Rwanda.

Nditurende declared that the help they needed was not to form a military wing of the FDU, but financial support in order to withstand attacks from their fellow FDLR and from the Congolese army.

Coming back to the e-mails, Tharcisse Nditurende told the Supreme Court that during his detention, the Ministry of Justice had forced him to reveal his password so they could have free access to his email account. However, this could not be possible without the Attorney General's authorisation as Ingabire's defense counsel has emphasized.

Ingabire's defense counsel had questioned the authenticity of these messages, because the investigators had access to the email account of the co-defendants, and that they could make them up. It also noted many contradictions in their content.

Meanwhile, like Mrs Ingabire, Major Uwumuremyi Vital has asked the court to take into account the agreement between Rwanda and the DRC under the auspices of the UN, which states, among other things, that the ex – FDLR fighters, who would lay down their arms or be repatriated following Umoja Wetu operations, would not be prosecuted for acts committed in the DRC, with the exception of crimes of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity that were already the subject of an arrest warrant issued by Rwanda or by the international community.

All these former FDLR combatants wrapped up their hearings by asking the court to do justice to them and to decrease punishment inflicted on them by the High Court in violation of the law as argued by their counsel.

All along her trial, the Defence of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza had told the court that the so called CDF armed group never existed and that the idea was merely invention of the State to put Mrs Ingabire behind bars and to stop her from running in presidential elections. It is noteworthy to recall the statement made President Kagame in an interview with "Monitor Newspaper" Managing Editor DANIEL KALINAKI in May 2010, three months before presidential elections. I quote:

"This woman will certainly be where she belongs. She was charged in the court of law, she's now out on bail but the matters are serious and are there as a matter of fact. How then do I explain myself or for this country beyond that? Now the outsiders who want so badly Ingabire to be an opposition leader here or later on be our president, well, they may wait for a while".

Now that the "serious matters" are more no more than a concoction of the State we are still to see how independent the Supreme Court will be as a guarantor of the rule of law.

FDU-INKINGI
Twagirimana Boniface
Interim Vice-President

FDU-CEP-04-29-13-ENG 

2012 Human Rights Reports: Rwanda

2012 Human Rights Reports: Rwanda

BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR

2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Report

April 19, 2013

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http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012/af/204156.htm