Rwandan Government Appeals Verdict Against Dissident
Sumaira FH Published December 12, 2018 | 07:43 PM
Rwanda's chief prosecutor on Wednesday said he would appeal after dissident politician Diane Rwigara was acquitted in a high-profile trial.
On December 6, the High Court found Rwigara not guilty of forgery and inciting insurrection -- charges that had seen her imprisoned for more than a year and highlighted a crackdown on opposition in the East African country.
Prosecutor General Jean Bosco Mutangana told reporters on Wednesday that he would file an appeal, arguing that prosecution evidence had been ignored.
"The prosecution was not satisfied by the ruling, and we have decided to file an appeal in the Appeals Court in the coming days," he said.
"We had time to carefully read the ruling by High Court in the Rwigara case and we have now decided to go ahead and file an appeal at the Appeals Court. We believe that the evidence which we presented to the High Court was not given full consideration." The prosecution has 30 days from the time of ruling to file its appeal.
Prosecutors had sought 22-year jail terms for Rwigara and her mother.
Rwigara, 37, is the daughter of Assinapol Rwigara, an industrialist who in the 1990s was a major donor to the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR) party before falling out with its leaders.
She became an unusual voice of criticism in tightly-run Rwanda ahead of the country's presidential election in August 2017.
Her bid to run in the poll was denied on the grounds she allegedly forged the signatures of supporters for her application.
She was arrested in September last year and charged with forgery and inciting insurrection for comments criticising the government and President Paul Kagame in the run-up to the vote.
But a panel of three High Court judges ruled the prosecution failed to prove that Rwigara had personally forged signatures.
It also determined that Rwigara's criticism of the government through press conferences was an exercise of her freedom of expression, guaranteed by both the constitution and international law.
Charges were also dropped against Rwigara's mother Adeline and four others, and the appeal also concerns that ruling.
Rwigara had exchanged Whatsapp messages with them in which she accused the government of killing her husband Assinapol Rwigara, who died in a car accident in 2015 that his family has long held was an assassination.
After her arrest, Rwigara's brothers and sister were interrogated, family assets were forcibly auctioned to pay off a multi-million Dollar tax claim, while a hotel they owned was demolished for allegedly failing to abide by city guidelines.
She was also the victim of a smear campaign when nude pictures, purporting to be of her, were shared online.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
Sindh minister orders operation after attack on police in Ghotki
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
More Stories From World
-
Football: English Championship table
5 hours ago -
Time for 'democratic transition' in Venezuela: opposition candidate to AFP
5 hours ago -
Spain's Pedro Sanchez : a risk-taker with a flair for survival
6 hours ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 table
6 hours ago -
Nadal will only play French Open if he can 'compete well'
6 hours ago -
Ukraine, Israel, TikTok: the massive aid package before US Congress
6 hours ago
-
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
6 hours ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 results
7 hours ago -
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
8 hours ago -
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
8 hours ago -
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
8 hours ago -
Anger among Ukrainians in Poland as Kyiv halts passport renewals
8 hours ago