Good moves around the world
BURUNDI JOURNALIST FREED
Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye has received a presidential pardon and been released from prison after serving part of a 10-year sentence for criticising the government on the radio.
Speaking to the media after leaving prison, Floriane gave a special mention to Amnesty activists who campaigned for her release. Floriane had been in detention since her arrest on 30 August 2022, while on a visit to Burundi from Rwanda, where she had lived for many years. It was the first time she had been back to her home country since 2015. She was convicted by the Mukaza High Court in January 2023 of ‘endangering the integrity of the national territory’. The case was based on comments she made during an online radio show in which she criticised the Burundian government. In a deeply flawed trial, the prosecution failed to provide evidence of her calling for the use of violence.
6 AMNESTY WINTER 2024
Since an attempted coup in Burundi in 2015, real and perceived critics of the government have been targeted in a brutal repression. The government has suspended or closed most independent human rights organisations and media outlets and driven them into exile. It has issued arrest warrants for human rights activists living in exile, and some journalists and activists have been sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia.
In 2021 the government signalled that it would normalise relations with the media, but it continues to view press and human rights work with suspicion and restrictions on human rights, including the freedom of expression, remain.
Arrest or detention for the peaceful exercise of human rights violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – both of which Burundi has ratified.
PHOTO
Floriane Irangabiye (right) greets her legal team after her presidential pardon © Tchandrou Nitanga/AFP via Getty Images
Burundi’s government continues to view press and human rights work with suspicion
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