RWANDA : Kigali 05 September 2011
The trial of the opposition leader Madame Victoire Ingabire, FDU-INKINGI Chair, started today with a new prosecutor’s request to postpone the trial to an unknown date due to the fact that the Dutch government has not sent withheld “pieces of evidence”. The defence counsel reminded “that from the start, justifying the preventive detention of the opposition leader, President Paul Kagame, his government and the Prosecutor stated they had overwhelming evidence.
RWANDA : Kigali 05 September 2011
The trial of the opposition leader Madame Victoire Ingabire, FDU-INKINGI Chair, started today with a new prosecutor’s
request to postpone the trial to an unknown date due to the fact that the Dutch
government has not sent withheld “pieces of evidence”. The defence counsel reminded “that from the start, justifying the preventive detention of the opposition leader, President Paul Kagame, his government and the Prosecutor stated they had overwhelming evidence. It this evidence did not exist, or is not available, the client should be immediately either bailed out, discharged and released “. After deliberations, the High Court presiding Judge Ms. Alice Rulisa rejected the prosecutor’s objection.
The prosecutor’s evasive delaying tactics and the surprising last minute move to postpone sine die the hearing and to keep the opposition leader in maximum security reveal once again the weakness of the legal basis of this politically motivated case. The arrest was done before investigation.
All key opposition leaders are in prison, dead or in exile. Ms. Ingabire is detained in isolation and denied adequate medical care.
Justice delayed is justice denied. Nobody is expecting any fairness in this circus where the RPF regime is both judge and party.
FDU-Inkingi
Boniface Twagirimana
Interim Vice President.