Urgent Appeal Filed with United Nations for an ICTR Acquitted Man Stranded in Limbo for Over Two Decades

An Urgent Appeal has been filed with United Nations Special Rapporteurs on behalf of Mr. André Ntagerura, a Rwandan national who was fully acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in 2004 and yet continues to face prolonged confinement and deteriorating health conditions today in Niger.

Mr. Ntagerura is one of eight men indicted by the ICTR who were either fully acquitted or who completed their sentences, but who were unable to reunite with their families to rebuild their lives due to the failure of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the “Mechanism”) to secure their safe, lawful, and durable relocation.

Despite ongoing efforts by Mr. Ntagerura’s lawyers to secure safe relocation, the Mechanism issued a vague decision in November that suggests a transfer to Rwanda is in the offing. The Mechanism, therefore, may have already taken steps toward refoulement — the prohibited return of individuals to a country where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious human rights violations — a continuing and pressing concern in this case. These developments are particularly alarming given the Mechanism’s failure, for several years, to make any meaningful progress to secure a third-state relocation. Counsel submit that this shift has pushed the situation from dire to an emergency.

Mr. Ntagerura is now an older person with serious and ongoing health needs, compounded by years of instability and inadequate access to medical care. Following surgery in Niamey, he suffered a serious injury and Nigerian doctors advised that his condition requires treatment beyond what is locally available. His family secured a specialist medical appointment for treatment in Europe last October. However, having been deprived of travel documents, Mr. Ntagerura has no lawful means of leaving the country without the assistance of the Mechanism which bears responsibility for facilitating and funding his transfer but has repeatedly withheld such assistance. The European hospital has now offered another appointment in early 2026; however, urgent legal and political intervention is required to make this possible.

Three other men in similar circumstances have died while awaiting a durable solution.

A team of international lawyers has filed the Urgent Appeal with the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, as well as the Special Rapporteurs on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the rights of older persons, and transitional justice. The appeal submits that the prolonged and coercive conditions imposed on Mr. Ntagerura — despite his acquittal — amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and that the continued failure to give effect to his acquittal violates fundamental principles of international law. These violations extend beyond Mr. Ntagerura himself, also depriving his family of their right to family life through this prolonged and unjustified separation.

The international legal team acting for Mr. Ntagerura includes Kate McInnes and Elsa Wyllie of Arendt Chambers and Allison Turner of Turner Legal Services.

A member of Mr. Ntagerura’s family welcomed the filing of the Urgent Appeal and said:

“Our husband and father was declared innocent many years ago, yet he continues to live under fear, restriction, and uncertainty. Every year that passes without a solution deepens the injustice. Time is running out — not only because of his health, but because of the growing risk that he will be sent somewhere unsafe.”

Counsel for Mr. Ntagerura said:

“An acquittal is meant to restore dignity and freedom. Instead, Mr. Ntagerura has endured decades of detention. The deaths of others in the same situation show the risk of irreparable harm is real and foreseeable. Recent actions by the Mechanism suggest movement toward possible refoulement to Rwanda instead of protection. That is why urgent UN intervention now is crucial.”

The Urgent Appeal calls on the UN Special Rapporteurs to take exceptionally urgent action, including seeking immediate protective measures, halting any steps toward refoulement, and pressing for Mr. Ntagerura’s prompt relocation to a safe third state, consistent with international law and the dignity owed to acquitted persons.