President Ndayishimiye’s government has unleashed wave of repression dashing early hopes of reform

With elections due next year, authorities must build on last week’s release of journalist Floriane Irangabiye

‘The Burundian authorities must urgently end arbitrary arrests, detentions and prosecutions of human rights defenders’ - Tigere Chagutah

Four years into Burundian president Evariste Ndayishimiye’s government human rights defenders, journalists and political opponents are facing a wave of intimidation, arbitrary arrest and unfair prosecution, said Amnesty International, as it released a new report.

Based on 30 interviews, Amnesty’s 13-page report, ‘Burundi: Rhetoric versus reality; repression of civil society continues under President Ndayishimiye’s government’, details the severe restrictions that many Burundians have faced over the past four years. It also offers recommendations on how the situation could be improved before, during and after the upcoming parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for next year.

Following major protests in 2015 and an attempted coup, former president Pierre Nkurunziza’s government cracked down on dissent, leaving Burundi’s once vibrant civil society muted. Amnesty’s report highlights how, despite hopes for a change of approach to civil society and media freedom, the fierce crackdown has persisted under Ndayishimiye’s government. After he assumed office, there were signs that President Ndayishimiye was seeking to loosen the stranglehold society and the media: two human rights defenders and four journalists who had been jailed were all released during the first year of his presidency. The releases coincided with efforts to re-establish diplomatic relations with key international partners, particularly the EU.

However, in October 2020, lawyer Tony Germain Nkina was arrested, apparently on account of his human rights work, while former parliamentarian Fabien Banciryanino, who had spoken out on human rights violations, was also arrested. They have both since been released, but other arrests followed. Journalist Floriane Irangabiye was arrested on a visit to her family in Burundi in August 2022. After receiving a presidential pardon, she was released last week having served two years of a ten-year prison sentence for “undermining the integrity of the national territory” in relation to comments made during an online radio debate.

In March 2022, a press conference held by Olucome and Parcem - two NGOs focusing on corruption and sustainable development respectively - was shut down by the police.

Five human rights defenders were also arrested in February last year and charged with rebellion, undermining internal state security and undermining the functioning of public finances. In late April 2023, two of the group were acquitted on all charges, while the remaining three were found guilty of rebellion and given one-year suspended sentences.

Meanwhile, in February 2023, 24 people were arrested in Gitega, the political capital, as they attended a workshop on economic inclusion facilitated by an organisation focusing on HIV/AIDS. They were accused of “homosexuality” and “inciting debauchery”.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s East and Southern Africa Director, said:

“With parliamentary elections scheduled for 2025, Amnesty International urges President Ndayishimiye and his Government to take immediate and effective action to end repression of civic space. Amnesty is calling on the EU, its member states and other international partners of Burundi to hold the Government to account.

“Spurious charges, especially those related to ‘rebellion’ and ‘threatening internal state security’, continue to be brought against human rights defenders and journalists.

“The way these charges are being used to silence dissent is a blatant affront to human rights, especially the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.”

“The Burundian authorities must urgently end arbitrary arrests, detentions and prosecutions of human rights defenders, and the human rights of all people in Burundi must be respected.”

ENDS