hrw.org
2024-10-21
For decades, Rwandan authorities have subjected detainees, in both official and unofficial detention facilities, to ill-treatment and torture, with no accountability, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Nevertheless, a landmark trial of 6 prison officials and 12 detainees for murder, torture, and assault at Rubavu prison, concluded in April 2024, demonstrated that it is possible to begin to break through the entrenched practice of torture in Rwanda.
The 22-page report, "'They Threw Me in the Water and Beat Me': The Need for Accountability for Torture in Rwanda," documents torture and ill-treatment by prison officials and detainees in Nyarugenge prison in the capital, Kigali; in Rubavu prison, western Rwanda; and in an unofficial detention facility in Kigali known as "Kwa Gacinya." Human Rights Watch found that judges ignored complaints from current and former detainees about the unlawful detention and ill-treatment, creating an environment of near-total impunity.
"Our research demonstrates that prison officials have been allowed to torture detainees with impunity for years, highlighting the failures of Rwanda's institutions mandated to safeguard detainees' rights," said Clementine de Montjoye, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The landmark trial of prison officials provides an important first step toward accountability, but a more comprehensive response is necessary to address the deeply entrenched practice of torture in Rwanda."