Burundi / Africa

Kampala, December 2, 2024—Burundi prosecutors requested a 12-year prison sentence for journalist Sandra Muhoza, who has been detained for seven months on charges of undermining the integrity of Burundi’s national territory and inciting ethnic hatred. The charges against Muhoza, a reporter for the privately owned online newspaper La Nova Burundi, are connected to messages she…

Kampala, August 16, 2024— The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of Burundian online journalist Florianne Irangabiye, who has served two years of a 10-year prison sentence, following a presidential pardon.  “Floriane Irangabiye’s imprisonment was deeply unjust, and it is a great relief that she has finally been freed after two years behind bars,” said CPJ…

Kampala, Uganda, June 17, 2024—Burundian authorities must desist from intimidating the independent news outlet Iwacu Press Group and swiftly investigate recent police attacks on two of the outlet’s journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Iwacu received a letter on June 6 from Burundi’s media regulator, known by its French acronym CNC, accusing the…

Nairobi, August 30, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists, Amnesty International, the Burundi Human Rights Initiative, and Human Rights Watch on Wednesday, August 30, renewed their call for Burundian authorities to unconditionally release journalist Floriane Irangabiye, who has been detained for a year. Irangabiye was arrested on August 30, 2022, and is serving a 10-year prison…

Nairobi, July 25, 2023 – In response to news reports that Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye is suffering respiratory distress and her health has deteriorated behind bars, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Imprisoned Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye’s worsening health is alarming, and authorities have demonstrated negligence in their failure to ensure that…

Nairobi, May 2, 2023—In response to media reports that a Burundian appeals court on Tuesday upheld the conviction of journalist Floriane Irangabiye, who is serving a 10-year prison term, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Coming on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, a Burundi court’s decision to uphold Floriane Irangabiye’s…

Nairobi, January 20, 2023 – Burundian authorities must not contest the appeal of journalist Floriane Irangabiye and ensure that members of the press are not imprisoned for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On January 2, the Mukaza High Court in Bujumbura, the capital, convicted Irangabiye of undermining the integrity of the…

Nairobi, November 4, 2022—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday called for the immediate and unconditional release of Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye, who has been detained for over two months without being formally charged. Irangabiye is a commentator and debate program host on Radio Igicaniro, a Rwanda-based outlet that publishes critical commentary and debate on…

When a staffer at the independent media website Iwacu in the central African state of Burundi tried to visit the outlet online in late October, they received an error message instead. “Hum. Nous ne parvenons pas à trouver ce site;” the site could not be found  – even though the local media regulator had promised…

Five years ago, Abbas Mbazumutima led a team of journalists from the independent Burundian news outlet Iwacu in investigating a story no reporter should ever have to write — about the July 22, 2016 disappearance of their colleague, reporter Jean Bigirimana, who went missing shortly after receiving a call from an intelligence source. The Iwacu…