After the longest criminal trial in Rwandan history, Victoire Ingabire, represented by Iain Edwards, was acquitted last week of four of the six counts that she had been facing. The leading opposition politician in Rwanda was convicted by the High Court in Kigali of conspiracy to harm the existing authority through terrorism and genocide ideology and sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment. The prosecution had asked that she be sentenced to imprisonment for life.
The case was reported by the BBC, The Economist, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The New York Times amongst others. International human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International criticised the trial for being unfair and for including politically motivated charges.
Iain will continue to represent Mrs Ingabire at her appeal before the Rwandan Supreme Court and, if necessary, before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights based in Arusha, Tanzania.
