The organisation has released a 22-page report titled "They Threw Me in the Water and Beat Me' - The Need for Accountability" which documents torture and ill-treatment by prison officials and detainees at 3 prisons in the country.

The organisation says it found that judges ignored complaints from current and former detainees about the unlawful detention and ill-treatment, creating an environment of near-total impunity.

“Our research demonstrates that prison officials have been allowed to torture detainees with impunity for years, highlighting the failures of Rwanda’s institutions mandated to safeguard detainees’ rights,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, Senior Africa researcher at HRW. “The landmark trial of prison officials provides an important first step toward accountability, but a more comprehensive response is necessary to address the deeply entrenched practice of torture in Rwanda.”

Human Rights Watch found a pattern of ill-treatment, mock executions, beatings, and torture at Kwa Gacinya which dates back to at least 2011.  

De Montjoye is requesting for African Commission and United Nations Committee to conduct much broader investigation to what's happening in Rwanda's detention facilities.  “Rwanda should comply with its own constitution and fulfill its obligations under international human rights law, in particular the absolute prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment,” De Montjoye said.  

--ChannelAfrica--