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End of Provisional Release of Genocide Suspects

Amnesty International
PRESS RELEASE
April 29, 2003
Posted to the web April 29, 2003
New York
As the first phase of scheduled releases of genocide suspects comes to an end,
Amnesty International welcomes the Rwandese government's attempt to address the
serious overcrowding of the country's prisons.
Government figures state that 25,029 detainees out of the approximately 112,000
Rwandese in the country's detention facilities were provisionally released in
the first phase of scheduled prison releases, ending 30 April 2003. A final
group of detainees, those whose confessions were verified after the first
release, will be released shortly.
The detainees, released today include those who have confessed to participation
in the genocide (excluding Category 1 offenders who led and organized the
genocide); those whose case files do not contain sufficient evidence to warrant
their detention; and pre-trial detainees who have already spent more time in
detention than they would if convicted for the crimes they allegedly committed.
The sick and the elderly - constituting nearly ten percent of the total number
of those released - were released in January. The remainder are being released
today after spending more than two months in "solidarity camps", geared toward
facilitating their reintegration into their home communities.
All releases are provisional. All of the detainees still have to be tried by
either the ordinary or gacaca (community-based) courts.
Amnesty International applauds the current judicial review of case files and
confessions but questions why the government has so far lacked the political
will to undertake these procedures.
Prison overcrowding and the attendant human rights abuses have been an endemic
problem for the past eight years. Previous attempts to expedite the judicial
review of case files were undermined by government inaction or opposition.
"The timing of the current significant number of releases prior to elections
may suggest political opportunism," Amnesty International said. Nonetheless,
the Rwandese government should continue efforts to ensure that individuals are
not unlawfully detained.
Many of those directly involved in gacaca proceedings (plaintiffs, magistrates
and community members) are troubled because the decision to release prisoners
was made without consulting them, and has in many cases stirred up feelings of
trauma.
Some Rwandese are concerned that by taking this unilateral decision the
government is undermining the communal nature of the justice that gacaca
promised to deliver.
Consequently, Amnesty International is calling on the Government of Rwanda to:
Perform a thorough review of case files to ensure that all detainees whose case
files contain insufficient evidence to warrant their detention are released.
Continue the sensitisation within the home communities of released detainees in
order to facilitate their reintegration and avert potential human rights
abuses.
Guarantee the safety in the period leading up to and during gacaca trials of
the released detainees, genocide victims and survivors, prosecution witnesses
and judges.
Support the independence and integrity of gacaca judges by continuing to
provide training to judges and adequate monitoring of the proceedings.
Establish a monitoring system to ensure that released detainees are tried.
Background
As many as one million Rwandese were brutally killed by their fellow Rwandese
during the 1994 genocide and its aftermath. These killings were accompanied by
numerous acts of torture, including rape.
The burdens faced by the post-genocide judicial system in Rwanda have proved
insurmountable. Rwanda's special genocide chambers have tried less than six
percent of those detained for suspected genocide offences since 1996.
Prior to the current releases, there were approximately 110,000 Rwandese in the
country's detention facilities, the vast majority of them awaiting trial. Many
were arbitrarily arrested and have been unlawfully detained for years with
minimal or no investigation of the accusations lodged against them. The
overcrowding and unsanitary conditions within detention facilities amount to
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Reportedly 11,000 people have died in
detention since 1994 because of the conditions under which they were held.
The president of Rwanda issued a decree on 1 January 2003 granting provisional
release to a projected 49,376 detainees. Projected releases were significantly
reduced, following the interpretation and implementation of the presidential
decree by the Ministry of Justice.
Many prisoners have been incarcerated for up to eight years, the direct result
of arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions.

   

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