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Viewing cable 07KIGALI210, JOURNALIST FREED BY GACACA AUTHORITIES

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07KIGALI210 2007-03-01 15:22 2011-08-24 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Kigali
VZCZCXYZ0019
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #0210 0601522
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011522Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3835
UNCLAS KIGALI 000210 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM KPAO PGOV PHUM RW
SUBJECT: JOURNALIST FREED BY GACACA AUTHORITIES 
 
 
1. (U)  Summary.  On July 23 Jean Leonard Rugambag , 
ajournalist for the Kinyarwand fortnight newspaper 'Umura,' 
was charged with murdering a bank official in his home 
district during the genocide, was freed after 11 months in 
detention.  Rugambage had been formally charged with murder 
one month after his initial arrest and subsequently had a 
contempt charge added.  The decision to free Rugambage was 
made after a review of the case by the National Gacaca 
Service, which determined that Rugambage,s arrest by local 
gacaca officials was arbitrary and found that there was no 
evidence to support the criminal charge against him.  This 
ruling followed a July 26 decision by a sector level gacaca 
appeals court to overturn the contempt of court conviction 
against Rugambage, for which he had been sentenced to one 
year in prison.  While it is possible that Rugambage could be 
charged in a traditional criminal court for the crime of 
murder (alleged to have occurred during the 1994 genocide), 
initial indications are that no further legal action will be 
taken against him. End summary. 
 
2. (U) In an August 8 meeting with Emboffs, Rugambage 
provided an overview of his case from the time he was 
arrested in September 2005 through his ultimate release from 
jail.  In most respects, Rugambage,s account of his initial 
arrest was consistent with an October 2005 report issued by 
the High Council of the Press (HCP), which determined that a 
local gacaca judge and an individual policeman had conspired 
to coerce local gacaca judges to sign Rugambage's arrest 
order. Initially Rugambage was charged only with attempting 
to evade law enforcement authorities.  The HCP investigation 
had concluded that the local police had improperly interfered 
in gacaca procedures, had declared that Rugambage had been 
detained illegally, and had called for his immediate release. 
 
 
3. (U) Where Rugambage and the HCP differ is in their account 
of why Rugambage was originally arrested.  Rugambage 
continues to insist that his arrest was spearheaded by a 
local gacaca judge in the Gitarama area (Rugambage,s native 
region) in response to articles he wrote that criticized him 
and other local gacaca officials.  In Rugambage,s version of 
events, this lone gacaca judge colluded with a policeman from 
Rugambage,s home village to have him arrested.  The HCP, on 
the other hand, concluded that there was no evidence that 
Rugambage was arrested because of his articles, but the HCP 
did not offer any alternative explanation for his arrest. 
 
4. (U) Rugambage said he does not believe that any senior 
government official was involved in his arrest or detention. 
Rugambage appeared to be genuinely grateful to Domitille 
Mukantaganzwa, executive secretary of the National Gacaca 
Service, for the role she played in bringing his case to a 
close and the willingness of the national administration to 
intervene when it became aware of examples of miscarriage of 
justice. 
 
5. (U) Comment: Rugambage's case has sometimes been 
highlighted as an example of the lack of press freedom in 
Rwanda.  It is probably more accurate to describe it as an 
example of how local officials in the gacaca system can evade 
checks and balances to pursue individual agendas. End 
comment. 
ARIETTI