Eighteen days after the four Iwacu news reporters and their driver were arrested and got thrown into Bubanza prison, the Corruption watchdog-OLUCOME calls on Burundian authorities to release them.
Gabriel Rufyiri: “The four Iwacu journalists and their driver were arrested while they were doing their job.”
Gabriel Rufyiri, Chairman of Observatory for the fight against corruption and embezzlement- OLUCOME, says the four Iwacu news reporters and their driver who are in jail in Bubanza province should be freed.
“They were arrested while they were trying to find out the truth about the information that was spread on social media,” he says, adding that Burundians have the right to accurate information.
For Gabriel Rufyiri, Burundian journalists have been working in dire conditions and take risks in order to inform the population since 2015.
“People really need accurate and verified information, not rumors spread on social media,” he says.
Mr Rufyiri adds that the detention of the four Iwacu news reporters doesn’t reassure the population especially in this period when the country is preparing for the 2020 elections.
OLUCOME Chairman urges the Burundian authorities to release them without any condition. “It is regrettable to hear that they were detained instead of thanking them for their good job,” he says.
Agnès Ndirubusa, Christine Kamikazi, Egide Harerimana, Térence Mpozenzi and their driver Adolphe Masabarakiza were arrested in Musigati commune in Bubanza province on 22 October when they went to report on clashes between the Burundian security forces and a group of armed men. .
On October 23, a judicial police officer heard them and no charge was brought against them. On October 26, Bubanza High Court accused them of “complicity in undermining the internal security of state”.
On October 31, Attorney General Sylvestre Nyandwi, said that the journalists weren’t arrested because they are journalists but due to the accusations brought against them.
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