Diane Rwigara denies forgery and inciting insurrection in court in Kigali as prosecutors call for 22-year jail termThe trial of Rwanda’s leading dissident politician has opened with a demand from prosecutors that she be sentenced to 22 years in prison for inciting insurrection and forgery. Diane Rwigara denies the charges, dismissing them as politically motivated after her blocked attempt to challenge the country’s president, Paul Kagame, in last year’s elections. The 37-year-old appeared in court in Kigali, the capital, on Wednesday alongside her mother, who faces a similar sentence for alleged insurrection and promoting ethnic hatred. The two women had spent more than a year behind bars before being released on bail last month ahead of their trial. Although the opposition Green party won its first-ever parliamentary seats earlier this year, Kagame and his party dominate and Rwigara is one of the very few openly critical voices in the country.

Source: The Guardian November 07, 2018 16:52 UTC