Communiqué Posté le 17:25 17-02-2023, modifié le 17:25 17-02-2023 par Tournons la Page
February 17, 2023 - Tournons la Page Burundi (TLP-Burundi) is outraged by the decision of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Ntahangwa taken during the night of February 16, 2023 to put in jail the Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) Maître Sonia NDIKUMASABO, Marie EMERUSABE, Audace HAWARIMANA, Sylvana INAMAHORO and Prosper RUNYANGE for "charges" generally put on the backs of the HRDs in order to harrass them.
On February 14, 2023, five Burundian civil society HRDs were arrested by the National Intelligence Service (SNR); four were arrested in the morning at Bujumbura airport as they were about to board a flight to Kampala. They are Maltre Sonia NDIKUMASABO, Marie EMERUSABE of the Association of Women Jurists of Burundi (AFJB) and Audace HAVYARIMANA, Sylvana INAMAHORO of the Association for Peace and Human Rights (APDH) as well as Prosper RUN YANGE who works for APDH who was arrested in Ngozi on the afternoon of the same day.
After interrogations within the SNR without the presence of their lawyers, these HRDs appeared before the Public Prosecutor's Office of Ntahangwa in the afternoon of February 16, 2023.
The charges brought by the Ntahangwa Prosecutor's Office against these HRDs include: "Undermining the proper functioning of public finances, rebellion, and undermining the security of the State".
This imprisonment constituted arbitrary detention and is part of the judicial harassment and intimidation routinely exercised by the CNDD-FDD government to discourage all those who campaign for the respect and promotion of human rights in Burundi.
Tournons la Page Burundi (TLP-Burundi) remains concerned about this recurrence in light of the situation in recent years, as the persecution of independent civil society by the authorities has led many human rights defenders to go into exile.
The space for public freedoms remains closed and restrictive measures imposed unfairly on independent civil society organizations have not yet been lifted.
During his visit to Burundi, the European Union's special envoy for human rights, Eamon Gilmore, stressed that there are human rights challenges in Burundi and insisted on improving civil and political rights.
As a result of the mentioned points, Tournons la Page Burundi (TLP Burundi) asks the competent Burundian authorities to :
- Immediately and unconditionally release the five Human Rights Defenders as they are being targeted solely because of their legitimate and peaceful work in favor of human rights in Burundi;
- Take urgent measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and safety of the five human rights defenders who are unjustly detained;
- Create an environment that allows all human rights defenders in Burundi to work freely without fear of restrictions or reprisals, including judicial harassment
- Stop using the Burundian justice system as a tool of repression against Burundian citizens in general and HRDs in particular.
Done on February 17, 2023
Me Innocent Mwumvikano
Secretary General
Tournons la Page Burundi
