HUMAN RIGHTS “We Will Force You to Confess” Torture and Unlawful Military Detention in Rwanda WATCH “We Will Force You to Confess” Torture and Unlawful Military Detention in Rwanda Copyright © 2017 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-6231-35294 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org OCTOBER 2017 ISBN: 978-1-6231-35294 “We Will Force You to Confess” Torture and Unlawful Military Detention in Rwanda Map of Military Detention Sites in Rwanda .......................................................................... I Glossary and Explanation of Terms ..................................................................................... II Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 6 To Rwandan Government, Military and Judicial Authorities ....................................................... 6 To Rwanda’s National Commission for Human Rights, Ombudsman, and Parliament ................. 7 To International Donors to Rwanda’s Justice and Security Sectors and Other Foreign Governments ............................................................................................................................ 7 To the UN, the World Bank, and Donors Supporting the DDRRR Program ................................... 8 To the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights ....................................................... 8 To the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture .............................................................. 9 To the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ...................................................... 9 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 10 I. Background ................................................................................................................ 12 The FDLR ................................................................................................................................ 13 The Rwanda National Congress ............................................................................................... 16 Grenade attacks ..................................................................................................................... 16 History of Violations in Rwandan Military Detention ................................................................ 17 II. Torture and Unlawful Detention in Military Centers ............................................... 19 Kami ....................................................................................................................................... 19 MINADEF (Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence) ............................................................... 26 Mukamira .............................................................................................................................. 29 Rubavu’s “Gendarmerie” ........................................................................................................ 34 Other Detention Centers ......................................................................................................... 38 Detention Conditions .............................................................................................................. 43 III. Arrests and Enforced Disappearances ................................................................... 46 Profile of Former Detainees .................................................................................................... 46 Arrests in Rwanda .................................................................................................................. 46 Arrests in Burundi .................................................................................................................. 49 Arrests in the Democratic Republic of Congo ........................................................................... 50 Arrests and Transfers during Demobilization and Repatriation from Congo .............................. 55 IV. Leaving Military Detention .................................................................................... 61 Release .................................................................................................................................. 61 Into the Regular Justice System .............................................................................................. 62 Visits ..................................................................................................................................... 64 Trials ..................................................................................................................................... 66 Allegations of Torture and Illegal Detention in Court, and Unfair Trials ..................................... 71 Impunity for Perpetrators ........................................................................................................ 74 After Release .......................................................................................................................... 77 V. Government response ........................................................................................... 79 VI. National and International Legal Standards .......................................................... 82 Torture and Forced Confessions ............................................................................................. 82 Safeguards and Procedure for Arrests and Detention .............................................................. 84 Arbitrary and Illegal Detention and Enforced Disappearances ................................................. 86 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ 91 Appendix I: Court Cases.................................................................................................... 92 Appendix II: Letter to Minister of Justice ........................................................................... 99 Appendix III: Letter to the National Commission for Human Rights .................................. 109 Map of Military Detention Sites in Rwanda © 2017 John Emerson for Human Rights Watch I HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | OCTOBER 2017 Glossary and Explanation of Terms African Charter African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights. Ratified by Rwanda in 1983. CAT Committee Against Torture. United Nations body which monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by state parties. The CAT reviewed Rwanda in 2012 and will review it again in 2017. CNDP National Congress for the Defence of the People (Congrès national pour la défense du people). A former rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. DDRRR Disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration, and resettlement of foreign armed groups. In the context of this report, DDRRR is used to describe the process through which FDLR combatants (see below) are demobilized in Congo, transferred to Rwanda, and reintegrated into civilian life there. The DDRRR program in Congo is coordinated by the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO. DMI Rwanda’s Department of Military Intelligence, officially known as “J2,” responsible for matters concerning military intelligence and security. EACJ East African Court of Justice. Organ of the East African Community, located in Arusha, Tanzania. FAR Rwandan Armed Forces (Forces armées rwandaises), the Rwandan army before and during the 1994 genocide. “Ex-FAR” refers to its former members. FARDC Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo), the Congolese national army. FDLR Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda). A predominantly Rwandan Hutu armed rebel group, based in eastern Congo, some of whose members and “WE WILL FORCE YOU TO CONFESS” II leaders participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The FDLR has also been responsible for serious human rights abuses in Congo. FDU-Inkingi United Democratic Forces-Inkingi (Forces démocratiques unifiées- Inkingi). A Rwandan opposition party which has been unable to register as a political party. HRC Human Rights Committee. UN body which monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by state parties. The HRC reviewed Rwanda in March 2016. ICC International Criminal Court. Rwanda