Human Rights Watch has published a new report in which it points out that at least eight bloggers who mainly broadcast their production via the Youtube platform have been threatened, arrested or even prosecuted for a year. A poet has also been missing since February last year after being critical.
The American NGO Human Rights Watch is concerned about abuses against bloggers. They show that a new step has been taken in limiting the political space. For Lewis Mudge, head of the Central Africa Organization, these are new attacks on freedom of expression in Rwanda.
“Now it’s the blogs, it’s the people on the Youtube page, who dare to talk about sensitive issues in Rwanda,” he said. For example, the arbitrary detentions, the tortures that are being held in custody … And as we saw in the trial against Cyuma [Hassan Dieudonne, NDLR], the people who dared to publish about how Covid-19 affected the most vulnerable in Kigali. ”
“For us Human Rights Watch,” Lewis Mudge continues, “the worrying thing is to see the authorities’ completely disproportionate and threatening response to reporting and discussions that are not even political. For example, an 8-year sentence against Cyuma when he simply tried to report on the situation of the most vulnerable. Even if he was not convicted, it sends a very clear message to all those who want to do the same. Even if we talk about the population who are hungry because of the Covid-19 measures, this can lead to prosecution. ”
For the NGO, Rwanda must initiate reforms ahead of the Commonwealth Summit to be held in Kigali in June next year, in the light of the principles reaffirmed by this organization.
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