Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

On #bbcqt, Robert Jenrick INSISTED that #Rwanda was "a safe country". Bullshit. The truth is, Rwanda is one of the most autocratic, authoritarian, & repressive regimes ON EARTH, ranked 150th out of 179 countries on the Index of Liberal Democracy.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1514962777089138688?s=20

The 2021 US State Dept of 'Democracy, Human Rights & Labour' report on Human Rights Practices in #Rwanda makes it clear that #Rwanda is anything but "a safe country".

Significant human rights issues included:

-harsh & life-threatening conditions in some detention facilities;

-unlawful & arbitrary killings by the government

-forced disappearance by the government

-torture by the government

-arbitrary detention

-political prisoners or detainees

-politically motivated reprisal against individuals located outside the country

Does this sound "safe"?

-arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy

-serious restrictions on free expression, press, & the internet, including threats of violence against journalists, censorship, & website blocking

@Conservatives seriously think this can be characterised as "safe".

#RwandaPlan

-substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly & freedom of association, such as overly restrictive nongovernmental organization laws

-restrictions on political participation

The next section of the #THREAD will focus on conditions in #Rwandan detention centres.

-Conditions were generally harsh & life threatening in unofficial detention centres.

-Reports from previous years indicated individuals detained at such centres suffered from limited access to food, water, & health care.

Again, is this really "safe"?

-Overcrowding is common in police stations & district transit centres

-Human rights NGOs report authorities at district transit centres frequently fail to adhere to the requirements of a 2018 Govt order determining the “mission, organization, & functioning” of transit centres.

For example, Human Rights Watch (HRW) found detainees were often held in cramped & unsanitary conditions & that the amount of food provided was insufficient.

HRW also reported that state security forces beat detainees at district transit centres.

#RwandaPlan

Transit centres often lacked separate facilities for children.

Medical treatment was reportedly irregular, & many detainees suffered ailments such as malaria, rashes, or diarrhoea.

There was no independent institution charged with investigating abuses or punishing perpetrators.

Turning to Civil Liberties, including the Rwandan regime's approach to freedom of expression, including the press.

The constitution provides for freedom of expression, including for the press “in conditions prescribed by the law,” but the Govt severely restricted this right.

Govt officials question, threaten, & at times arrest journalists expressing views deemed critical of the Govt.

In Britain, journalists could be jailed for 14 years for stories embarrassing the Tory Govt under proposed changes to the Official Secrets Act.

theconversation.com/official-secre…

The Rwandan Govt's failure to investigate or prosecute attacks on human rights defenders & journalists led to de facto restrictions on freedom of assembly & association.

Our Govt's Police Bill will lead to restrictions on freedom of assembly.

You can see why Tories ❤️ #Rwanda

“Sending asylum seekers at great expense to be processed in a part of the world that has been devastated by genocide, civil war, & mass exoduses of refugees has to be one of the most surreal & outrageous schemes this (UK) government has ever come up with.” thetimes.co.uk/article/paul-k…