Our Statement on the Arrest of Presidential Candidate Diane Rwigara

Statement

The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights strongly condemns the arrest of Diane Rwigara, the independent presidential candidate who was barred from standing in the August 2017 presidential election and has now been arrested on charges of inciting insurrection and forgery.

Her arrest, together with the detention of members of her family, follows a pattern familiar to every Rwandan who has dared to challenge the ruling party. Diane Rwigara announced her candidacy for the presidency as an independent voice. Her candidacy papers were rejected on technical grounds. Her family's business was pursued by the tax authority. Nude images, widely reported to be doctored, were circulated online to discredit her. And now, she is behind bars, facing charges that carry decades in prison.

What This Reveals

This is not justice. This is punishment for the crime of wanting to compete for power in one's own country.

Diane Rwigara committed no act of violence. She collected signatures. She spoke to journalists. She proposed policies. In a country that calls itself a democracy, these are supposed to be protected acts of citizenship. In Rwanda, they have become grounds for imprisonment.

Her case shows the emptiness of Rwanda's political space. Candidates who might genuinely contest the presidency are disqualified, harassed, or arrested. Opposition politicians like Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza remain in prison, and their defenders face prosecution. Journalists who ask difficult questions are silenced. Dissent, however peaceful, is treated as a crime against the state.

Our Demands

The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights demands:

• The immediate and unconditional release of Diane Rwigara and her family members detained with her.
• The dropping of all charges related to her peaceful political activity.
• An end to the judicial harassment of independent candidates and their families.
• Genuine opening of political space so that Rwandans can choose their leaders freely, without fear of prison.

Our Resolve

The arrest of Diane Rwigara will not extinguish the desire of Rwandans to be governed by consent rather than by fear. It will only confirm, before the Rwandan people and before the world, that a government which imprisons its challengers has lost the argument.

We call on Rwanda's international partners to speak clearly and publicly on this case, and to make clear that political imprisonment carries consequences.

The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights

Secretariat