The Rwanda authorities and judiciary are openly violating the rights of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, Rwandan human rights activist and political opponent who was unlawfully re-arrested 19 June 2025.
The FVP reminds these authorities that the international community is watching the growing list of procedural and legal irregularities in the handling of Victoire Ingabire’s case. These violations, which reinforce the sham nature of the proceedings against her, include:
- Victoire Ingabire’s continued detention despite the failure of the Prosecution to submit an indictment within the timeframe ordered by the court;
- The prohibition on Victoire Ingabire speaking with her family since her arrest on 19 June 2025, in violation of the UN Minimum Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), which allow limits on family contact for a limited period and only as strictly required for the maintenance of security and order;
- The prohibition on Victoire Ingabire speaking with her international legal team, in further breach of the Nelson Mandela Rules;
- The refusal of the Rwandan Bar Association to allow Victoire Ingabire’s Kenyan lawyer to represent her in court, in violation of its own governing framework, and the Protocol of the East African Common Market
- The assignment of the same Judges who ordered the Prosecution to investigate Victoire Ingabire, to now adjudicate the case against her; and
- The decision to incarcerate Victoire Ingabire in a solitary confinement with a female inmate who has been convicted of murder. Detaining pre-trial accused together with convicted defendants is irregular, and dangerous given Victoire’s status as a political figure, who has previously received death threats.
FVP is gravely concerned by this decision to place Victoire Ingabire in conditions that pose such a direct threat to her physical safety. FVP states publicly that the Rwandan government will be held directly accountable should she come to any harm as a result of this decision.
The persistent violations of Victoire Ingabire’s basic human rights, and rights as an accused, further highlight the absence of the rule of law in Rwanda, and further damages the country’s reputation on the global stage. The case against Victoire Ingabire is yet another example of the Rwandan judiciary being weaponised against President Kagame’s political opponents.
FVP calls on the international community to continue to denounce the breaches by the Rwandan judiciary, and continue to closely monitor these proceedings.
Brussels 9th September 2025