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Rwandan Prosecutor wants to bring “Hotel Rwanda” hero Rusesabagina to justice

Paul Rusesabagina, President of Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF).
“Paul Rusesabagina is next after Ingabire” � says Rwandan prosecutor

Kigali – Government has evidence that exiled opposition politician Paul Rusesabagina and jailed Victoire Ingabire have been in constant contact and fundraising for the FDLR rebels, says the Prosecutor General.

Three former FDLR commanders Lt. Col Tharcisse Nditurende, Major Vital Uwumuremyi and Captain Jean Marie Vianney Karuta, all charged as Ingabire�s accomplices have provided valuation information on the link between Ingabire and Rusesabagina, according to Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga.

Rusesabagina is the inspiration behind the Hollywood movie �Hotel Rwanda� in which he supposedly saved some 1200 people from being killed during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis.

Before 2004, Rusesabagina was a taxi driver in Brussels, but using the money and fame from the movie, Rusesabagina has become one of the fiercest critics to President Kagame and his government.

With Ingabire facing terrorism charges over forming the CDF armed wing of her FDU Inkingi party, prosecution says Rusesagabina has been wiring money from his base in the United States to the FDLR rebels.

Ngoga says money in US dollar bills was wired from San Antonio (State of Texas) in the US to accounts in Burundi, DRC and Dar-es-salaam. No details have been availed by Ngoga as exactly the amounts which have been transferred and the dates.

The FDLR is a terrorist group and transferring such a large amount of money is a serious criminal offence, said Ngoga.

Meanwhile, the National Prosecutions Department says it has received indication from the United States and the Netherlands that they will cooperate with providing requested information to aid in the prosecution of Ingabire. Government had previously said Ingabire�s other cases have stalled because other countries were not cooperating.

The fiery government critic is spending her first day in the maximum security �1930� prison after the Gasabo Intermediate Court ruled to remand her for 30 days. She has already filed an appeal against the ruling she angrily described in court on Tuesday as politically motivated.

[ARI-RNA]

October 27, 2010   1 Comment

Frustrated Rwandan prosecutor still hunting for evidence against opposition politician Ingabire

Major Uwumuremyi (in YELLOW) is giving evidence against Ingabire (ABOVE). In this photo below, the three had surrendered to Rwanda in February following military operations against the FDLR rebels

Kigali -� State prosecutors in the terrorism case against opposition politician Victoire Ingabire have accused some countries of not cooperating in the investigations into her �terrorist activities�, but also welcomed the support that some governments in this region have offered.

Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga said immediately after Ingabire was refused bail by the Gasabo Intermediate Court that ongoing investigation into the activities of Ingabire would be �far-reaching� � with information expected to come from many places.

In a statement, Ngoga thanked countries in the region for their collaboration and urged other countries from which Rwanda had requested information, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States to cooperate in what he called “this far-reaching terrorist investigation”.

“In public, Victoire Ingabire masquerades as a politician. But behind the scenes she operates as a terrorist leader and financier,” Ngoga was quoted as saying.

Ingabire is charged along with a former FDLR commander Major Vital Uwumuremyi of planning to set up a rebel group � CDF, which would be the armed wing of the yet-to-be registered FDU Inkingi party, which Ingabire heads. Prosecution has labeled the group a terrorist oganisation intent on overthrowing a legitimate government.

Rwandan justice system in 4 steps:

- First: suspect somebody
- Second: lock him or her out
- Third: look for evidence
- Fourth: as long as no evidence found, keep suspect in jail and keep searching for evidence.

Rwandan justice mission: Break and Condemn the Suspect

In court on Monday and Tuesday, it was not clear if Major Uwumuremyi was being treated as a co-accused to Ingabire or a prosecution witness, as he was brought in by prosecution as one of its witnesses. He was also charged with the same cases.

On Tuesday, as the court ruled to deny Ingabire bail and remanding her to 30 days in jail as investigations continue, she erupted in an outburst � accusing the judiciary of working for the ruling RPF party. She has described the charges against her as fabricated and politically motivated, and has vowed to appeal the verdict.

Ngoga said in the statement: �Ms. Ingabire’s personal safety is assured throughout the judicial process and that she will receive a fair trial”.

In the meantime, Ingabire spends her first night in the maximum security �1930� prison in Kigali, as she prepares the defense for the bail appeal. Since October 14, she has been held at the Kicukiro police station, according to police.

Her party has claimed that she has been refused food and a mattress which have been provided by them � calling the conditions in the cell as inhumane. The group also says Ingabire has been having her handcuffs all the time.

The Police have dismissed these concerns, as has the Prosecutor General Ngoga, who said Ingabire would not be treated any different from other inmates.

It has not been clear if Ingabire was being held in a cell with other suspects in custody there, or separately � considering the charges against her.

[ARI-RNA]


October 27, 2010   No Comments

Ingabire remains in prison

A court in Rwanda Tuesday denied bail to Victoire Ingabire, an opposition leader arrested earlier this month, a statement from the prosecutor’s office said.

“The Gasabo Intermediate Court refused Victoire Ingabire bail on charges that include collaborating with a terrorist organisation,” the statement said.

“In public, Victoire Ingabire masquerades as a politician. But behind the scenes she operates as a terrorist leader and financier,” chief prosecutor Martin Ngoga was quoted as saying.

Ingabire, the leader of the unregistered United Democratic Forces (FDU), was arrested October 14 in Kigali on the basis of information given by a former military officer for “organising a terrorist group”.

According to police, the officer, who was arrested the day before Ingabire on the Rwanda-DR Congo border, said he had received her assistance to “set up a military wing of the FDU”.

“Mr Ngoga said that Ms. Ingabire’s personal safety is assured throughout the judicial process and that she will receive a fair trial,” the statement said. Ngoga thanked countries in the region for their collaboration and urged other countries from which Rwanda had requested information, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States to cooperate in what he called “this far-reaching terrorist investigation”.

Ingabire, who has appealed the court decision, was first arrested in April on accusations of associating with a terrorist group, denying genocide, promoting genocide ideology and division.

Key among those accusations is her alleged association with the DR Congo-based Hutu rebels Kigali blames for involvement in the genocide.

After her release, she was placed under police investigation and barred from travelling outside the capital Kigali pending trial.

Authorities also barred her attempts to register the FDU and run for the August 9 presidential election which was resoundingly won by President Paul Kagame.

In the Netherlands, the family of Ingabire is worried. Ingabires daughter Raissa (21) : “I fear for her destiny. I know her situation. I know how she’s suffering. Since she has been arrested, I did not talk to her. I cannot write her.”

[ANP/AFP/RNW]

October 27, 2010   No Comments