human rights activists were released from prison

By Abeli Zahabu (BTM French Reporter)

RWANDA – March 12, 2008: Two Rwandan human rights activists were released on bail early this week and are subjected to report to a Kigali prosecutor every Thursday following their arrest two weeks ago.

The two women are in addition confined within Kigali’s boundaries as one of the conditions of their bail.

Nyirahabimana Salma and Umutoni Fatoumata were arrested at Kanombe International Airport in Kigali on their way to Maputo in Mozambique to attend a 3rd Leadership Institute conference organised by Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) two weeks ago.

According to immigration officers at the Kigali airport, the human rights activists were arrested because of forged documents and were not in possession of valid visas to get into Mozambique.

However, according to LAMBDA, an organisation operating which co-hosted the conference, the human rights activists were in possession of invitation letters that could have allowed them to obtain visas at the entry point in Maputo.

The release came after the prosecutor in Kigali admitted that he didn’t have sufficient evidence and needed more time to prepare the evidence.

Few days ago, original documents were submitted by the Mozambican immigration services to assert that  Fotoumata and Salma were not in possession of forged documents, and they were supposed to obtain their visas at the entry point in Maputo.

“The original invitation letters that were sent from Maputo helped a lot to speed up the case, and we are really grateful for the support we got from LAMBDA, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, as well as from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex community”, said a joyful Naome Ruzindana, Project Coordinator at Horizon Community Association (HOCA).

The release of the two activists was met with joy and a sense of relief at HOCA though “the girls are still very terrified”, Ruzindana added.

Asked if the organisation is planning any action, Ruzindana said they are waiting for instructions from the lawyer about way forward.