Rwanda: Three journalists sentenced to "preventative detention"

IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
> _________________________________________________________________
>
> ACTION ALERT UPDATE - RWANDA
>
> 30 July 2002
>
> Three journalists sentenced to "preventative detention"
>
> SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
>
> **Updates IFEX alert of 24 July 2002**
>
> (CPJ/IFEX) - In a 29 July 2002 letter to Rwandan President Paul Kagame,
CPJ
> expressed deep concern about the government's continued harassment of
> independent journalists.
>
> On 23 July, Robert Sebufirira, Elly MacDowell Kalisa, and Emmanuel
> Munyaneza, all journalists with the independent weekly "Umuseso", were
> sentenced to 30 days of "preventative detention" by a court in Rwanda's
> capital, Kigali. They are currently in the city's central prison.
>
> The charges stem from a 17 July incident that took place at Bar Addis
> Ethiopian in the Kiyovu district of Kigali. Sebufirira, Kalisa and
Munyaneza
> arrived at the establishment after work and found a crowd gathered
outside.
> When they went to investigate, they learned that the proprietor of the bar
> had called the police to deal with a rowdy patron who then attempted to
> resist arrest once the police arrived.
>
> The patron identified himself as a member of the military and claimed that
> civilian police did not have the authority to arrest him. A fistfight
ensued
> between the police and the patron, and some of the bystanders reportedly
> started shouting at the journalists to take note of the police and the
> soldier's conduct and make sure to report it in the newspaper.
>
> The military police arrived soon after and promptly arrested the
> journalists, as well as the patron who had earlier fought the civilian
> police. The journalists were taken into custody and charged with assault,
> battery, and insulting a police officer. They have been in detention since
> 17 July.
>
> Several eyewitness accounts indicate that the journalists were not
involved
> in any physical confrontation and were simply observers. As Rwanda's only
> independent, Kinyarwanda-language publication, "Umuseso" has consistently
> criticized the president's regime and has written extensively about police
> misconduct. According to CPJ sources in Kigali, evidence suggests that the
> spurious charges against the journalists are an attempt to prevent the
> newspaper from revealing possible police misconduct.
>
> RECOMMENDED ACTION:
>
> Send appeals to the president:
> - condemning such attacks on the independent press
> - urging him to ensure that independent media outlets are not harassed and
> to allow journalists to practice their profession without fear of reprisal
> - calling on him to ensure that members of the police and the military
> respect the media's right to publish critical stories about their conduct
> - requesting that he do everything within his power to see that
Sebufirira,
> Kalisa and Munyaneza are released
>
> APPEALS TO:
>
> President Paul Kagame
> Office of the President
> Urugwiro Village
> P.O. Box 15
> Kigali, Rwanda
> Fax: 250 84390
>
> Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
>
> For further information, contact Yves Sorokobi (ext. 112), Wacuka Mungai
> (ext. 106) or Adam Posluns (ext. 107) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York,
NY
> 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
> [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Internet:
> http://www.cpj.org/
>
> The information contained in this action alert update is the sole
> responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or
publication,
> please credit CPJ.
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