Saturday, February 12, 2011

Opposition Leader in Rwand Sentenced to Four Years

Bernard Ntaganda, an opposition leader in Rwanda, has been sentenced to four years in prison for enflaming ethnic tensions in the country. The chief prosecutor argued that divisive speech had no place in Rwanda because it would reverse the years of hard work the country has put in to rebuilding itself. However, the article points out that this is the second Hutu opposition leader to land in jail since attempting to run in the last presidential election. President Kagame, a Tutsi, won 93% of the popular vote in the last election, only the second election since the 1994 massacre. Human rights activists disapprove of the ruling say that the government is using laws meant to stop a repeat of the killing to keep powerful opposition rulers from running against the government. Two journalist were sentenced to seventeen and seven years respectively for similar charges for enflaming ethnic tension. Mr. Ntaganda was accused, tried, and found guilty for criticizing an economic development plan as well as arguing that the genocide courts were finding for or against people simply because of their race.

By Margaret Nunne

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