Human Rights Watch facing Rwanda deportation

19 Mar 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized

The Rwandan director of Human Rights Watch faces deportation from the central African state after her work permit was revoked. Immigration officials claim to have found “anomalies” in Carina Tertsakian’s accreditation documents at a time when relations between president Paul Kagame and the New York-based organisation are strained. Innocent Niyonsenga, communications manager at the Immigration Department, explained that Tertsakian must secure a new visa or measures would be taken to remove her from Rwanda. Human Rights Watch claimed in February that opposition activists are facing increasing threats and harassment ahead of Rwanda’s presidential election in August. President Paul Kagame denied this accusation on Tuesday (16 March) saying that he had a problem with the human rights community commenting on issues from outside the country.