Rights groups demand answers after Rwandan critic dies in jail

The death of Rwandan academic and government critic Aimable Karasira in custody has triggered renewed scrutiny of Rwanda’s treatment of political dissenters, with rights groups demanding an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death, reports Associated Press News with agencies on May 8th.

Rwandan authorities said Karasira died on May 6th after overdosing on medication prescribed for a preexisting condition while in detention. However, Human Rights Watch challenged the official explanation, arguing there are serious reasons to question how the outspoken critic died just days before his expected release from prison.

Karasira died at Nyarugenge District Hospital in Kigali, according to prison officials. A spokesperson for Rwanda’s prison service told local media that he had taken excessive amounts of his prescribed medicine.

Human Rights Watch called for an independent inquiry led by international experts, citing what it described as years of harassment and persecution directed at Karasira by authorities. The organisation said the government must prove he was not unlawfully killed.

Karasira was arrested in 2021 after posting videos online discussing the deaths of family members during the 1994 genocide and in the period that followed after the current government came to power. He was charged with crimes including genocide denial and inciting division, though he was acquitted on some counts.

Although sentenced to five years in prison, Karasira was reportedly nearing release after already spending four years in detention awaiting trial. Prosecutors had appealed some of his acquittals and were seeking a longer 30-year sentence at the time of his death.

British historian Michela Wrong said Karasira had previously alleged he was beaten and tortured in prison, adding that his death raised troubling questions about Rwanda’s prison system.

Rights groups also compared the case to the 2020 death in custody of singer and government critic Kizito Mihigo.

President Paul Kagame’s government has long defended strict laws against genocide ideology as necessary for national unity following the 1994 genocide. Critics, however, accuse the government of silencing opposition and suppressing dissent through intimidation, imprisonment, and alleged disappearances.

Associated Press News with agencies, Maghrebi.org