Rwandan Soldier Forcibly Returned Charged with Terrorism
A former guard of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, illegally arrested in Uganda where he was a refugee and sent back to Kigali, was charged on Wednesday with terrorism and murder.
Joel Mutabazi was forcibly returned to Rwanda by Ugandan police last month, a move condemned by the U.N. refugee agency and rights groups.
The 37-year-old Israeli-trained commando appeared before a military court in the Rwandan capital alongside 14 co-accused, all civilians including three women.
"You are accused of terrorism, formation of an armed group, spreading rumors with intent to incite the public to rise up against the state, murder and conspiracy to murder, offences against the state (and) illegal possession of fire arms," military judge Charles Sumanyi told Mutabazi.
The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said last week it was "saddened" Mutabazi had been handed over to Rwanda against international refugee law.
"UNHCR remains concerned about his safety and thus calls upon the Rwandan authorities to respect his fundamental human and legal rights," it said.
Rwandan police have said Mutabazi is a "suspect in grenade attacks in Rwanda as part of a larger network led by the dissident Rwanda National Congress (RNC) in collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda" (FDLR).
The RNC, based between South Africa and the United States, is headed by defectors from Kagame's ruling party.
The FDLR are the Democratic Republic of the Congo-based descendants of the ethnic Hutu militia who carried out Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
Mutabazi, a refugee in Uganda since 2011, "survived a bungled abduction" in August as well as an assassination attempt in July 2012 in Uganda, in both cases by unknown attackers, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The New York-based rights group has accused the Ugandan police of having "utterly failed to protect this refugee, who was clearly at serious risk".
Uganda has said it is investigating the incident and has suspended the police officer who arrested Mutabazi, according to a government statement.
Kampala's media have claimed the Ugandan officer recently completed a training course in Rwanda.
"It's unconscionable that they handed him over summarily to the police force of the country whose persecution he fled," said Daniel Bekele, HRW's Africa director.
Mutabazi, who appeared without a lawyer, told the court that he had no money and requested legal aid before the trial starts.
The judge adjourned the pre-trial hearing to November 25 to allow him to find a lawyer.
