Rwanda: Police officers remain free while protesting Congolese refugees face jail time

Police officers who shot at Congolese refugees protesting cuts to the subsistence allowances and support they received must be investigated and held to account, Amnesty International said, one year after at least 11 refugees were killed in Karongi town and Kiziba refugee camp in western Rwanda.

While no official investigation has been published into the killing of protesters, at least 63 refugees are facing charges in connection with the protests which range from ‘participating in and organizing illegal demonstrations’ to ‘spreading false information with intent to create a hostile international opinion against the Rwandan government’. They are also charged with ‘violence against public authorities’.

Read More>>>