Rwanda: Prosecutor Wants French Writer Convicted

Even over 14 years after the genocides, writers and those in other media outlets continue to be threatened and even some convicted for exercising what we in the United States refer to as freedom of speech. In this article which was posted September 27th prominent French writer, Pierre Pean, was being charged with defamation and incitement for racial hatred in his book "Noires Fureurs, Blancs Menteurs (Black Furies, White Liars)" which was based on the Rwandan genocide.

Pean wrote that the Tutsis had a culture of lies and deceit or were "professionals" in manipulation. He said in his book, published in 2005, that it made investigating Rwanda "an almost impossible task".

Pean is suppose to receive his judgement before the end the year. The prosecution is also requesting that the publication of the judgement appears in three French newspapers.

There are a lot of topics that are written about that may seem offensive or racist to a lot of people. However, an author should be able to speak their mind if they feel some type of way about a subject. People should be able to dislike it or even protest. However, for the author to be prosecuted seems to be cruel and unusual punishment.

By Ashley Mannings