2,000 detainees freed since October

Some 2,000 people, detained in Rwanda on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, have been freed since October 1998, according to a report by the Ligue rwandaise pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'homme (LIPRODHOR). The report, cited by the independent Hirondelle news agency, recalled that they had been released because there were no case files against them. A programme, entitled Programme de suivi des accuses de genocide mis en liberte (PSAG), had been set up to keep a watch on the released inmates in a bid to protect them. The report noted that they were at risk. It said in Butare prefecture, for example, 24 freed people had been killed. Local officials, interviewed by LIPRODHOR, said however, the freed prisoners were generally well-received by the community.