Burundi: Floriane Irangabiye release welcomed but Government must do more to uphold human rights

Responding to the release of Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Sarah Jackson said:

“While we welcome the release of Floriane Irangabiye, she should never have spent a single night behind bars simply for exercising her human rights.

“We are happy and relieved that she has been reunited with her family after two long years in arbitrary detention.

“With parliamentary and local elections approaching in 2025, Amnesty International calls on the Government of Burundi to take immediate and effective action to end the repression of civic space, in particular the use of state security charges to silence journalists and human rights defenders and activists.

“The authorities must uphold Burundi’s national and international human rights obligations, and ensure the human rights of everyone in the country.”

Imprisoned for speaking out

Floriane Irangabiye was arrested in Bujumbura on 30 August 2022, while on a visit from Rwanda where she was then living.

On 2 January 2023, Irangabiye was sentenced to ten years in prison for “undermining the integrity of national territory”. She was convicted after a deeply-flawed trial in which the prosecution relied on comments that she made during a radio show for Radio Igicaniro - an online platform in exile - in which she and other guests were highly critical of the Burundian government. The prosecution produced no evidence of her calling for the use of violence to overthrow the Government.

Irangabiye’s appeals against her conviction were twice rejected by the courts but last week (on 14 August) President Evariste Ndayishimiye signed a decree granting her a full pardon. This was made public the next day and Irangabiye was released from prison the following evening. Before her release, Irangabiye was going to be featured in Amnesty’s global Write for Rights campaign which launches later this year.