Rwanda Criticized for Extraterritorial Repression


The Rwanda government has been involved in killings, kidnappings, attempted kidnappings and enforced disappearances against its people and diaspora to silence critics or extradite them back home. The Human Rights Watch alleged Rwanda of running a campaign of extraterritorial repression. It said President Paul Kagame is ruling the country with an iron fist. 

The HRW also alleged that the Rwandan Patriotic Front responds forcefully and violently to any perceived threat to its power. However, the Kagame-led government has brushed off the US-based rights watchdog’s claims saying HRW continues to present a distorted picture of Rwanda. 

The report says violent abuses are alarmingly frequent, particularly in African countries and in other countries as well where the Rwanda government has an active military presence. The Rwandan government allegedly harasses and threatens relatives of those critics it cannot directly reach. The watchdog said targeting of relatives is a vicious form of control. Countries having close ties to Rwanda, such as the US and UK hardly raise their allies’ human rights concerns.


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