Prisoners of Conscience and Human Rights Defenders

Kizito Mihigo

Gospel singer, genocide survivor and peace activist

Beloved gospel singer and genocide survivor who was imprisoned for his songs, forced into exile, and died in a Kigali police cell three days after his arrest. We believe he was killed in custody and we demand an independent investigation.

Aimable Karasira

Lecturer and citizen journalist

A popular lecturer turned citizen journalist, imprisoned for nothing more than his YouTube commentary on Rwandan politics, who died in the state's hands on the very day he was due to walk free after five years in prison.

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza

Opposition leader, DALFA-Umurinzi

Rwanda's most prominent opposition leader, arrested on her return from exile to stand for the presidency and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Released in 2018, she was re-arrested in June 2025 and remains in the hands of the state.

Diane Rwigara

Businesswoman and women's rights activist

Independent presidential candidate barred from the 2017 ballot, arrested alongside her family, and subjected to a campaign of intimidation. Her treatment laid bare the emptiness of Rwanda's political space.

Paul Rusesabagina

Genocide hero turned opposition figure

The hotel manager who saved more than 1,200 people during the 1994 genocide, later lured onto a plane, abducted to Kigali and sentenced to 25 years in prison for his opposition to the government.

Cyuma Hassan

Independent journalist and YouTuber

Dieudonné Niyonsenga, known to his audience as Cyuma Hassan, ran one of Rwanda's most popular independent YouTube channels before he was arrested during the COVID-19 lockdown and sentenced to seven years in prison for reporting the truth.

John Williams Ntwali

Investigative journalist, The Chronicles

Widely described as Rwanda's last independent journalist. He spent years being harassed for his reporting and died in Kigali in circumstances the authorities refuse to have independently investigated.

Deo Mushayidi

Opposition politician, PDP-Immana

An opposition politician seized from exile in Burundi, forcibly returned to Rwanda and sentenced to life imprisonment after a politically motivated trial.

Yvonne Idamange

Writer, businesswoman and government critic

A mother of four and outspoken critic of the government, Yvonne Idamange was arrested after speaking out during the COVID-19 lockdown and sentenced to fifteen years in prison in a prosecution condemned as a punishment for her opinions.

Dr Joseph Nkusi

Blogger, researcher and government critic

A Rwandan blogger and researcher who was deported from Norway in 2016 and arrested the moment he landed in Kigali. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for his writings, and Norway has since recognised that its decision to send him back was a serious mistake.