20110213
reuters

KIGALI (Reuters) - The sentencing of a Rwandan opposition politician to four years in jail for inciting ethnic division was a sign the country was using the judicial system to stifle criticism, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday.

On Friday, Rwanda's High Court found Bernard Ntaganda guilty of endangering national security, divisionism, inciting ethnic divisions and attempting to organise illegal demonstrations, sentencing him to two years each for the first two charges.

He was fined 100,000 francs for the third charge.

Rwanda's prosecutors, who had initially demanded Ntaganda be imprisoned for 10 years, said the verdict was fair.

Ntaganda, leader of the opposition Social Party Imberakuri, was arrested six weeks before last August's presidential election and charged under the genocide ideology law, which officials say is necessary to prevent future violence.

The law is a highly sensitive issue in Rwanda which has been completely rebuilt since the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus died.

President Paul Kagame has been praised for restoring stability after the genocide, implementing reforms and fostering robust economic growth in recent years, but critics say his leadership is authoritarian and intolerant of dissent.

Analysts say critics of the government, including journalists, civil society groups, clergy and teachers, are frequently targeted by the law.