Rwanda opposition chief held for 'genocide denial'
By AFP
April 21, 2010
Ingabire, a likely challenger to President Paul Kagame in August presidential elections, was arrested in Kigali at around 0800 GMT and later appeared before a prosecutor at the Gasabo district court in the capital.
"The court will decide on Thursday whether she remains in preventive custody as requested by the prosecution or is granted bail awaiting substantive trial", the statement from the prosecution said.
Ingabire is accused of "association with a terrorist group; propagating genocide ideology; negationism and ethnic divisionism".
Ingabire's United Democratic Forces (FDU) party, formed in exile but not yet registered in Rwanda, condemned the arrest, but said it would not impair her ambitions.
The FDU "condemns in the strongest terms possible the arrest this morning of the party chair... for her views on how to bring about genuine national reconciliation and peace..," a statement said.
"We know that this violent arrest will not deter her determination, instead it prompts the struggle of this freedom icon to a higher level."
In the prosecution's statement, it said Ingabire's "involvement in politics does not mean that she is above the law".
Last month she was prevented from leaving the country because she was under police investigation.
"We are suspecting her of having committed serious crimes," police spokesman Eric Kayiranga said. "We have sufficient evidence to begin prosecution."
She is also accused of links with the Rwandan Hutu rebels operating in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, whom Kigali has repeatedly accused of taking part in the genocide that claimed some 800,000 lives.
Ingabire, a Hutu, returned to the country on January 16 and called for the trial of those responsible for the death of Hutus in the massacre. The vast majority of those killed were Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Those remarks, according to the government, amounted to denying the genocide and Ingabire has since been repeatedly questioned by the police.
The FDU said it was a "tragedy" that Ignabire's views were turned into accusations and called for support in seeking its leader's immediately and unconditionally release.
Authorities are yet to register her FDU party and she has accused the officials of trying to lock her out of presidential polls set for August 9.
Kagame, a former anti-government guerrilla leader elected in 2003 after effectively being in power since the end of the genocide, is expected to run in the elections even though he has not yet said so publicly.
The FDU, which is based in the Netherlands, has also complained about repeated harassment ahead of the elections.
In February, Ingabire's colleague Joseph Ntawangundi was arrested to serve a sentence handed down in absentia in 2007 by a local gacaca court trying genocide suspects.
Ingabire's arrest came a day after two senior army generals were arrested for corruption and misconduct.
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 12:18 AM
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