Govt critic dies in custody in Rwanda

A Rwandan academic and Government critic died in custody as he was set to be freed from jail, immediately raising concern from a prominent rights group that urged an investigation into the death of Aimable Karasira.

Karasira died on Wednesday after he took an overdose of his own medication, according to Rwandan authorities. Human Rights Watch questioned that account, urged the international community to pay attention, and called for a “body of experts” to conduct an independent probe. “There are many reasons to question the circumstances surrounding Aimable Karasira’s death in custody, not least the years of harassment and persecution he experienced at the hands of the authorities,” the group’s Clementine de Montjoye said in a statement.

“The Government bears the burden of proving that Karasira was not unlawfully killed.” Karasira died at the Nyarugenge District Hospital in Kigali, the Rwandan capital. Hillary Sengabo, a spokesman for the Rwandan prison system, told The New Times newspaper of Rwanda that Karasira “took chunks of medicine which he had been prescribed for a preexisting condition.”

In 2020, Karasira released a video on his YouTube channel in which he discussed losing relatives during the 1994 genocide and in its aftermath — after the rebels who stopped the genocide had taken charge of Rwanda’s Government. Karasira later faced pressure from intelligence officials and threats from others he didn’t know, according to Human Rights Watch, which has documented the case. Karasira was arrested in 2021, charged with several crimes relating to genocide denial and sowing division.