May 17. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported that Rwandan authorities have denied entry into the country to its researcher Clémentine de Montjoye for unspecified bureaucratic reasons and in the absence of additional explanation.
The researcher had to turn around as soon as she arrived at the international airport in the capital, Kigali, on May 13, at the abrupt end of a trip in which she had planned to meet with foreign diplomats.
As soon as she touched land, De Montjoye was informed that “she was not welcome in the country for immigration reasons,” according to HRW, which links what happened to a report the NGO published in October about “systematic repression” organized by Rwandan authorities. against “critics and dissidents beyond its borders”
“Rwanda prides itself on being an open and hospitable destination, but the treatment of those who investigate abuses reveals the government’s deep hostility to any kind of independent scrutiny,” said HRW executive director Tirana Hassan in a statement. release.
HRW recalls that the researcher followed the same protocol on this trip as the visits she made in June 2022 and August 2023, when she did not have any problems entering the country.
For the NGO, the rejection of De Montjoye also “reflects the increase in attacks against human rights” in the African country a few months before the general elections in the country, scheduled for July of this year.
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