Radio Free never accepts money from corporations, governments or billionaires – keeping the focus on supporting independent media for people, not profits. Since 2010, Radio Free has supported the work of thousands of independent journalists, learn more about how your donation helps improve journalism for everyone.

Make a monthly donation of any amount to support independent media.





Rwandan court acquits, releases 3 Iwacu TV journalists

Nairobi, October 5, 2022—In response to the acquittal and release on Wednesday of three journalists for YouTube-based Iwacu TV who have been detained in Rwanda since October 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement expressing relief: “We are greatly relieved that the court has recognized the charges against Damascene Mutuyimana, Shadrack Niyonsenga,…

Nairobi, October 5, 2022—In response to the acquittal and release on Wednesday of three journalists for YouTube-based Iwacu TV who have been detained in Rwanda since October 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement expressing relief:

“We are greatly relieved that the court has recognized the charges against Damascene Mutuyimana, Shadrack Niyonsenga, and Jean Baptiste Nshimiyimana as baseless. Finally, these journalists can go home to their families,” said CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. “However, the four years that these journalists lost behind bars are a great injustice, underscoring the willingness of Rwandan authorities to abuse judicial systems to the detriment of the press. A repeat of such injustice should not be allowed, and all those other journalists who remain behind bars in Rwanda for their work should be released without delay.”

On Wednesday, October 5, a court in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, acquitted the three journalists of charges of spreading false information with the intention of creating a hostile international opinion of Rwanda, publishing unoriginal statements or pictures, and inciting insurrection, according to reports by BBC News Gahuza and Reuters. One of their lawyers, Jean Paul Ibambe, confirmed to CPJ that the journalists were released from Nyarugenge Prison in Kigali on Wednesday evening, following the acquittal. The journalists were held in pre-trial detention until their trial started in August 2021. Earlier this year, prosecutors requested that they be sentenced to 22 years and five months in prison.

At least four other journalists, most of them YouTube-based, remain detained in Rwanda.


This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.


Print Share Comment Cite Upload Translate Updates

Leave a Reply

APA

Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free (2022-10-05T18:29:55+00:00) Rwandan court acquits, releases 3 Iwacu TV journalists. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/05/rwandan-court-acquits-releases-3-iwacu-tv-journalists/

MLA
" » Rwandan court acquits, releases 3 Iwacu TV journalists." Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free - Wednesday October 5, 2022, https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/05/rwandan-court-acquits-releases-3-iwacu-tv-journalists/
HARVARD
Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free Wednesday October 5, 2022 » Rwandan court acquits, releases 3 Iwacu TV journalists., viewed ,<https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/05/rwandan-court-acquits-releases-3-iwacu-tv-journalists/>
VANCOUVER
Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free - » Rwandan court acquits, releases 3 Iwacu TV journalists. [Internet]. [Accessed ]. Available from: https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/05/rwandan-court-acquits-releases-3-iwacu-tv-journalists/
CHICAGO
" » Rwandan court acquits, releases 3 Iwacu TV journalists." Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free - Accessed . https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/05/rwandan-court-acquits-releases-3-iwacu-tv-journalists/
IEEE
" » Rwandan court acquits, releases 3 Iwacu TV journalists." Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free [Online]. Available: https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/05/rwandan-court-acquits-releases-3-iwacu-tv-journalists/. [Accessed: ]
rf:citation
» Rwandan court acquits, releases 3 Iwacu TV journalists | Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free | https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/05/rwandan-court-acquits-releases-3-iwacu-tv-journalists/ |

Please log in to upload a file.




There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.

You must be logged in to translate posts. Please log in or register.