URGENT APPEAL FILED TO UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE ON BEHALF OF PAUL RUSESABAGINA, HUMANITARIAN FAMOUS FOR SAVING 1,268 RWANDANS DURING 1994 GENOCIDE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kitty Kurth
Phone: 312-617-7288
Email: kitty@kurthlampe.com
MEDIA RELEASE
September 7, 2020
URGENT APPEAL FILED TO UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE ON
BEHALF OF PAUL RUSESABAGINA, HUMANITARIAN FAMOUS FOR SAVING 1,268 RWANDANS
DURING 1994 GENOCIDE
WASHINGTON, D.C. and GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Today,
international counsel for Hotel Rwanda humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina filed an
urgent appeal to Dr. Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Paul Rusesabagina is a Belgian citizen who
was brought illegally and involuntarily to Rwanda in an extraordinary rendition
– no extradition process was followed.
In their appeal, lawyers Jared Genser and Brian Tronic of
Perseus Strategies requested Dr. Melzer act urgently to assist Mr.
Rusesabagina, who was “abducted, disappeared, and subjected to an extraordinary
rendition from Dubai to Rwanda and is currently being held incommunicado by
Rwandan authorities in Kigali.” They
explained that he has had no contact with his family, authorized legal counsel,
or Belgian diplomats (he is a citizen and has a right to consular access) for
11 days since his abduction. The appeal
also provides the first complete narrative of the timeline of what has happened
to Mr. Rusesabagina from August 28, 2020, to present.
Dr. Melzer was asked to open up an immediate investigation
into Mr. Rusesabagina’s treatment and to reach out to the Government of Rwanda
immediately to ensure his mental and physical integrity is respected,
especially in light of his serious health issues, at least two of which (a
heart condition and hypertension) require him to take ongoing medication.
They also emphasized that the combination of his ongoing and
illegal incommunicado detention with President Paul Kagame’s false public
statement that Mr. Rusesabagina “heads a group of terrorists that have killed
Rwandans,” that he will “have to pay for these crimes,” and that he “has the
blood of Rwandans on his hands” is not merely a flagrant denial of his right to
the presumption of innocence, but could also provide license to the police or
prisoner authorities to execute jailhouse justice rather than treat him in
accordance with the rule of law.
Jared Genser, counsel to Mr. Rusesabagina further observed:
“We are gravely concerned for Paul’s health and
welfare. President Kagame bragged about
how his plan to bring Paul to Rwanda illegally worked ‘flawlessly’ and he
continues to hold him incommunicado and without presenting him to a court where
he could challenge the lawfulness of his detention. His shocking public declaration that Paul is
guilty of being a terrorist and that he has the blood of Rwandans on his hands
gives license to police and prison authorities to torture or murder him,
outside any legal process. I urge the
world to demand that Paul be immediately and unconditionally released. This is the only legal result that would be
compatible with Rwanda’s obligations under international law because any legal
action that emanates from an extraordinary rendition is illegal.”
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UPDATE - Rwanda Blocks Rusesabagina’s Real Lawyers
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kitty Kurth
Email: kittykurth@me.com
Phone: 312-617-7288
MEDIA RELEASE
September 6, 2020
Rwanda Blocks Rusesabagina’s Real Lawyers
International Counsel for Rwandan Humanitarian Reject Claims of
Lawyer in Rwanda Who Says He was Hired to Represent Him
Paul Rusesabagina has been held incommunicado
for nine days since being abducted from Dubai on August 28th. For the last
several days, the lawyer for Paul Rusesabagina in Rwanda has been denied access
to Paul. Additionally, Rusesabagina has had no consular visits, no Red
Cross visits and no communication allowed from his family.
Yesterday in Rwanda, a person unknown to the
Rusesabagina family put on a sham press conference saying that he is the lawyer
that Paul Rusesabagina has chosen. THAT IS NOT TRUE. This is another travesty
of justice that the international community must not tolerate.
Paul Rusesabagina is a Belgian citizen who was
brought illegally to Rwanda and is a victim of extraordinary rendition. Paul
did not voluntarily come to Rwanda and no extradition process was followed.
Today in Rwanda, President Kagame admitted to
exactly that - and in fact said that his plan for extraordinary rendition
“worked flawlessly.”
Belgian and US officials need to act now.
Jared Genser, the newly-hired international pro bono counsel for Mr.
Rusesagabina said that “They need to know that unlike US law, under
international law, there is an "abuse of process" doctrine and legal
precedent for requiring that a person who is kidnapped or brought involuntarily
to a country should be released and his case dismissed.”
The process playing out right now in Rwanda is
a kangaroo court process that the United States and Belgium can not
condone.
Rusesabagina’s family has chosen an expert
team of international human rights lawyers to represent him:
Gatera Gashabana,
Rwanda
Vincent Lurquin,
Belgium
Kate
Gibson, Australia
Peter Robinson, United
States
Jared Genser, United States
Brian
Tronic, United States
Philippe Larochelle,
Canada
Paul’s family is shocked and outraged that
there is a lawyer claiming publicly to represent him. Paul was abducted,
disappeared, and the victim of an extraordinary rendition from Dubai to Rwanda
on August 28th. For nine days, he has been held totally incommunicado. He
has been denied access to his chosen local counsel who has repeatedly been
turned away at the police station, to all family, and to the Government of
Belgium, from which he has a right to a consular visit as a Belgian
citizen.
There is no way Paul Rusesabagina would
interview and voluntarily hire this lawyer without consulting with his own
family first, let alone instruct him to hold a press conference without
connecting with them in advance.
More importantly Mr. David Rugaza, the Rwandan
lawyer who claims to represent Rusesabagina, is really just advancing the
interests of the Government, as he said he welcomed representing Paul Rusesabagina
in court. The “press conference” was held only in Kinyarwanda with only state
media in attendance. This is unacceptable in a high profile international case.
Genser argues that “If he were really
representing Paul, this would be a stunning and unforgivable act of gross
malpractice. Any competent lawyer at the first press conference would
reject any legal proceeding in Rwanda as invalid and ultra vires because it
emanated from an illegal extraordinary rendition and call for Paul’s immediate
and unconditional release.” Paul’s family calls upon the international
community to demand the Government of Rwanda end this sham and immediately
allow local counsel, the Red Cross and the Embassy of Belgium to visit him in
prison.
On Friday August 28, 2020, Paul Rusesabagina
was abducted and disappeared from Dubai and subjected to an extraordinary
rendition to Rwanda. The Rwanda Bureau of Investigation claimed in a
tweet on Monday August 31, 2020, that he was arrested through “international
cooperation,” yet the United Arab Emirates strenuously objected. They said
there is no agreement between UAE and Rwanda relating to extraditions and that
he left on a private plane. Meanwhile, that same day, police officers
brought him to their headquarters in Kigali and marched him in front of the
media. Yet nine days after his abduction, disappearance, and
extraordinary rendition, he continues to be held incommunicado.
According to the United Nations Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention: “Secret and/or incommunicado detention constitutes the
most heinous violation of the norm protecting the right to liberty of a human
being under customary international law. The arbitrariness is inherent in
these forms of deprivation of liberty as the individual is left outside the
cloak of any legal protection.” In addition, there are already a wide
array of ways in which Mr. Rusesagabina’s abduction, disappearance,
extraordinary rendition, and ongoing detention already violates both Rwanda and
the United Arab Emirates’ obligations under the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, an international treaty to which both are state
parties. Mr. Rusesabagina’s team will shortly file a formal complaint at
the United Nations against Rwanda in relation to this situation and the
violations of both domestic and international law in his case.
Paul Rusesabagina is a 66 year old citizen of
Belgium and resident of the United States. His family is deeply concerned about
his health and safety in prison. In addition to his age, Paul is a cancer
survivor and suffers from a heart condition and hypertension, both requiring
ongoing medication. Beyond the legal issues, the family urges Paul’s release on
compassionate grounds.
Background - The Rusesabagina Legal Team
Gatera Gashabana, Rwanda - He
was born in Kalehe, DRC, 1957 and studied law at University of Kinshasa and got
a Bachelor's Degree in Law, 1985. He was Court Appeal of Kinshasa Gombe between
1986 until 1998. He has been registered as an Attorney in Rwanda Bar
Association since October 1999. He was elected as the President of the
Rwandan Bar Association in August 2006 - 2008. He is also registered as
Advocate before the International Criminal Law and the MIRCT. Today,
Gatera is consultant to several Kigali organizations: practices commercial,
civil, societies, labor, financial and criminal law. He speaks both French and
English.
Vincent Lurquin, Belgium - a Belgian political leader
and an internationally acclaimed lawyer who fights for human rights, refugees,
and migrants, as well as serving as a criminal defense lawyer in cases with
implications for the global good. Originally educated at the Royal Athenaeum in
Koelkelberg, he then obtained a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of
Philosophy before entering the legal field. He has been registered with the
Brussels Bar since 1983. Throughout his career, he has been dedicated to civil
rights and justice, starting with his work with the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda in 1999 to his management of legal representation for
victims in the International Criminal Court. He also participated in the
founding of the Citizen Network which aims to strengthen the rule of law in
countries such as Rwanda, Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He continues to serve in the Brussels Parliament and is devoted to international
legal work for the advancement of justice, truth, and human rights.
Kate Gibson, Australia - has been practicing before international criminal
courts and tribunals since 2005, representing accused in cases involving
Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. Between 2009 and 2018, she was co-counsel of Former
Vice-President of the DRC, Mr. Jean-Pierre Bemba who was acquitted of all
charges by the ICC Appeals Chamber. She also represents Rohingya victims in the
Myanmar/Bangladesh situation at the ICC. Previously, she was the
co-counsel of President Charles Taylor before the Special Court for Sierra
Leone, and the Co-Counsel for President Radovan Karadžić before the UN Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. At the UN Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,
Kate was Lead Counsel of Minister Justin Mugenzi and Legal Assistant to General
Gratien Kabiligi who were both acquitted of all charges. She is currently the
Vice-President of the Association of Defence Counsel in The Hague and holds an
LL.M in International Law from Cambridge University.
Peter Robinson, United States - is an American lawyer
who has defended persons accused at the International Criminal Court and
international war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia for the
past 20 years. He most recently served as Lead Counsel to former Bosnian
Serb President Radovan Karadzic. Prior to beginning work at the international
tribunals, Mr. Robinson was a federal prosecutor in the United States for 10
years, and then a criminal defence lawyer based in Northern California.
Jared Genser, United States - is Managing Director of
Perseus Strategies, a public interest law firm, and an Adjunct Professor of Law
at Georgetown University Law Center. Referred to by the New York
Times as “The Extractor” for his work freeing political prisoners, he
was previously a partner in the government affairs practice of DLA Piper LLP
and a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. He will be
co-Executive Director of a dramatic TV series that he recently sold with actor
and producer Orlando Bloom to Amazon Studios for Prime Video (150 million
viewers worldwide). His past clients have included former Czech Republic
President Václav Havel and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Liu Xiaobo, Desmond
Tutu, and Elie Wiesel. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University, an M.P.P.
from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he was an
Alumni Public Service Fellow, and a J.D. cum laude from the
University of Michigan Law School. His most recent book is The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Commentary
and Guide to Practice (Cambridge University Press,
2019). He was a recipient of the American Bar Association’s International
Human Rights Award.
Brian Tronic, United States - is Counsel at Perseus
Strategies. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
and holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia, where he double-majored in
Math and Philosophy. After law school, he clerked for two years in the
Vermont Superior Court, and then moved to South India to work at a human rights
organization through the William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in
India. He then served as the Crowley Fellow in International Human Rights
at Fordham Law School, an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School
(India), and the Supervising Attorney and Teaching Fellow at the International
Women’s Human Rights Clinic at the Georgetown Law Center. He is a member
of the Massachusetts bar and the District of Columbia bar.
Philippe Larochelle, Canada - is one of the founding partners
of Larochelle Avocats, a firm specializing in litigation based in
Montreal, Canada. He has extensive experience in civil, criminal and aboriginal
law, both before Canadian and international courts. Since 1998, Mr
Larochelle has developed a private practice focusing on civil and criminal law
before the Superior Courts, Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of
Canada. Since 2001, he has also practiced in international criminal law,
representing clients before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(Tanzania), the International Criminal Court (The Netherlands) and the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (The Netherlands). He has also published articles on the
subject in both French and English.
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