Rwanda – USA: Congressmen mobilize for the Rwigara family

Several American Congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans, have been supporting Diane Rwigara and her mother Adeline Rwigara by using the hashtag #FreeDianeRwigara on Twitter. The social media support campaign started since Wednesday, November 26, 2018. This surprise mobilization comes one week before the long-awaited verdict in the Kigali trial against the Rwigara family. As Jambonews reported in August,the hashtag #FreeDianeRwigara, now taken over by several American elected officials, was initiated in August 2018 by a group of young Kenyans and Ugandans who wanted to show their solidarity with Rwandan political prisoners.

This is not the first time in this month that U.S elected officials have publicly expressed their support to Diane Rwigara. On November 6, at the time of the U.S. elections, Representative Suzanne Bonamici of the State of Oregon tweeted: " As we vote today, Americans are reminded how fortunate we are to live in a country with free elections. That is not the case for human rights activist Diane Rwigara and her fellow Rwandans." And added," Diane is facing jail for speaking up and challenging the government. I'm advocating for Diane as part of the @TLHumanRights Defending Freedoms Project."