Rwanda officials accused of detaining victims’ families

KIGALI, Rwanda – Human Rights Watch is accusing Rwandan officials and security forces of detaining family members who refuse to fabricate stories about their loved ones’ deaths.

The group says Rwandan officials threatened or coerced family members into saying their relatives were not killed by security forces.

Rwanda’s National Commission for Human Rights has disputed the allegations, saying some of the people Human Rights Watch has reported as killed are still alive. Commission chair Nirere Madeleine says others died of illnesses.

Human Rights Watch accuses Rwanda’s government of presenting falsehoods. The rights group says the commission put forward people claiming to be those killed or relatives of those killed in an attempt to discredit the allegations.

Rwanda’s government often denies allegations by rights groups of abuses including routine military torture of detainees.