Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul released
On May 29 2021, Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul was temporarily released from the Auditorat Militaire de Rutshuru, where he had been held since 3 May 2021, after paying a $150 bail.
On 3 May 2021, human rights defender Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul was arrested at a taxi station as he was trying to accompany a community member, whom he provided legal assistance, to the police station in Rutshuru to follow up on their case. Since the human rights defender’s arrest, he has not been brought before a judgenor has he been charged with any offence. Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul is currently being detained at the Auditorat Militaire in Rutshuru.
Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul is a human rights defender and the chair of the regional office of Ligue des Sacrifices Volontaires pour les Droits Humains et d’Environnement (LISVDHE) in Rutsiro, Ntamugenga. LISVDHE is a non-profit NGO that promotes and defends human rights, through providing legal assistance to victims of police abuse and through reporting on human rights violations in the region. Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul’s work specifically focuses on reporting abuses by the military in the region.
On May 29 2021, Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul was temporarily released from the Auditorat Militaire de Rutshuru, where he had been held since 3 May 2021, after paying a $150 bail.
Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul is a human rights defender and the chair of the regional office of Ligue des Sacrifices Volontaires pour les Droits Humains et d’Environnement (LISVDHE) in Rutsiro, Ntamugenga. LISVDHE is a non-profit non-governmental organisation that promotes and defends human rights, through providing legal assistance to victims of police abuse and through reporting on human rights violations in the region. Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul’s work specifically focuses on reporting abuses by the military in the region.
On 3 May 2021, Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul was arrested by military officers in Rutsiro without a warrant. He was taken to Kalengera and later that day was transferred to the Auditorat Militaire de Rutshuru where he was detained. Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul was not brought before a judge or formally charged. The military officers who detained the human rights defender informally accused him of being linked to the death of a military officer in November 2020. The human rights defender’s family was required to pay a fee to the authorities in the Auditorat Militaire in Rutshuro in order to visit him. Following the visit, a representative from LISVDHE and a family member reported that prison authorities had initially refused to provide Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul with medical treatment for a head injury he received while in prison, for which he later received preliminary care for. The human rights defenders colleagues have told Front Line Defenders that Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul was being physically assaulted by a cellmate.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the release of Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul and believes that he never should have been detained in the first place, as he was targeted for his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights. Front Line Defenders is concerned by the reprisal and asks the Congolese authorities to drop all the charges against him and to stop the targeting and repression of human rights defenders in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On 3 May 2021, human rights defender Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul was arrested at a taxi station as he was trying to accompany a community member, whom he provided legal assistance, to the police station in Rutshuru to follow up on their case. Since the human rights defender’s arrest, he has not been brought before a judgenor has he been charged with any offence. Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul is currently being detained at the Auditorat Militaire in Rutshuru.
Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul is a human rights defender and the chair of the regional office of Ligue des Sacrifices Volontaires pour les Droits Humains et d’Environnement (LISVDHE) in Rutsiro, Ntamugenga. LISVDHE is a non-profit NGO that promotes and defends human rights, through providing legal assistance to victims of police abuse and through reporting on human rights violations in the region. Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul’s work specifically focuses on reporting abuses by the military in the region.
On 3 May 2021, Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul was arrested by military officers in Rutsiro without a warrant. He was taken to Kalengera and later that day was transferred to the Auditorat Militaire de Rutshuru where he remains detained. Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul has not been brought before a judge or charged. The military officers who detained the human rights defender have informally accused him of being linked to the death of a military officer in November 2020.. The defender’s family was required to pay a fee to the authorities in the Auditorat Militaire in Rutshuro in order to visit him. Following the visit, a representative from LISVDHE and a family member reported that prison authorities are refusing to provide Tumaini Muhoza Jean Pul with medical treatment for a head injury he received in prison. The human rights defenders colleagues have told Front Line Defenders that Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul is being physically assaulted by a cellmate.
In November 2020, a military officer approached Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul as he was sitting outside a shop with other residents of his village. According to several eye-witnesses, the officer pulled his gun and threatened to kill Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul because of his work denouncing human rights abuses. The human rights defender fled as police arrived on site and witnesses tried to stop the officer waving his gun. In this attempt to de-escalate the situation, the officer in question’s gun went off and the bullet ricocheted, resulting in his death. The investigation was led by the unit the deceased officer was a part of. The officer currently in charge of Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul’s present case reportedly responded that the defender should now suffer as the deceased military officer had suffered.
Front Line Defenders condemns the detention and ill-treatment of human rights defender Tumaini Muhoza Jean Paul and believes that he is being targeted solely as a result of his legitimate and peaceful work defending human rights.
