Speaking at a news conference with his Rwandan counterpart on Thursday, Blinken said he raised “serious concerns” about human rights during his last meeting with Kagame, including the case of Rwandan citizen and US permanent resident Paul Rusebagina. also includes.
“We believe that people in every country should be able to express their views without fear of intimidation, imprisonment, violence or any other form of repression,” Blinken said at a news conference with Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta. should be able.”
,[We] underlined our concerns about the lack of fair trial guarantees provided to her,” Blinken said, referring to Rusebagina’s case.
Blinken later, responding to a journalist’s question, said, “We urge the government to address concerns about the legal protection given to them in this case and to establish safeguards to prevent similar consequences in the future.” We do.”
One of Rusesabagina’s daughters, Anas Kanimba, told CNN after Blinken’s meetings with Rwandan government officials: “We are confident that if the US relationship with Rwanda is strong enough to be worthy of financial and credible cooperation, It is strong enough to push for the release of our father on humanitarian grounds.”
In a conversation before Blinken’s visit to Kigali, Kanimba told CNN that the family has serious concerns about Rusesabagina’s health. She said it is believed she had a stroke three or four months ago, and without proper treatment, she could have had another.
“He is a 68-year-old man who has been in prison for two years under difficult conditions. He is also a cancer survivor,” she said.
“So anything can happen to him and they don’t have proper medical care for him, they’re not willing to put him over there, and so we want the Secretary of State to fully advocate for our father so he can return home.” Can come and get proper medical attention,” Kanimba said.
Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Biruta said that the judicial process of Rusesabagina complied with Rwandan and international law.
“We would urge our allies to respect the sovereignty of Rwanda and the laws of Rwanda and its institutions,” Biruta said.
Blinken also said he had raised “credible reports” with Kagame regarding Rwanda’s alleged support for the rebel group M23 and allegations of sending Rwandan forces to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
“My message to both” [DRC] President Tshisekedi and President Kagame have remained the same. Any support or cooperation with any armed group in eastern DRC endangers local communities and regional stability. And each country in the region must respect the territorial integrity of the others,” Blinken said at the press conference.
According to previous CNN reporting, Rwanda has previously denied allegations by the Congolese government that it supports the M23 and has sent troops to the border. M23 has also denied that it has Rwanda’s support.
Blinken said Tshisekedi and Kagame have agreed to engage in direct talks with each other and that the two leaders are ready to resume talks with armed groups.
Later on Thursday, Blinken took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kigali Genocide Memorial to commemorate the victims of the 1994 genocide.