Nairobi (AFP)
Burundian justice sentenced four journalists arrested on October 22 to two and a half years in prison while covering the incursion of Burundian rebels from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), judicial sources have learned. and a witness.
"We are in shock, the court has just sentenced the 4 journalists of Iwacu to 2 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 1 million Burundian francs (485 euros), it is a shame because they do not have done their job, "a witness who attended the hearing and requested anonymity told AFP.
Amnesty International denounced in a statement "fabricated" accusations and spoke of "a sad day" for press freedom in Burundi.
These journalists working for Iwacu, one of the last independent media in Burundi, were sentenced for "attempted complicity (...) in endangering the internal security of the state" by the court in Bubanza, in the west of the country. Their driver was acquitted.
The prosecution, which had requested 15 years in prison, wanted to see them convicted for "complicity in endangering state security", but the court "decided to reclassify the facts", said a judicial source, under cover anonymity.
According to a Burundian journalist also wishing to remain anonymous, this decision of the judges results from the fact that "the defense had clearly established that the journalists were never in contact with the rebels, that they only did their job ".
According to a witness present during the closing argument, on December 30, the prosecution had based the main part of its argumentation on a WhatsApp message exchanged by one of the journalists with a colleague being abroad, in which it wrote: " We will head to Bubanza (...) to help the rebels. "
The founder of Iwacu, Antoine Kaburahe, who lives in exile in Belgium, indicated on Twitter his organization's desire to appeal.
At least 14 rebels from the Burundi-based RED-Tabara group, based in eastern DRC, were killed in the October 22 attack, the first since 2017, according to Burundian police. For its part, the rebel movement claimed to have killed ten members of the defense and security forces.
Reporters Without Borders, who believes the journalists were only doing their job, and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly asked for their release.
Journalists protection and human rights organizations believe that this is a bad signal to the media, which are still operating in Burundi a few months before the general elections in May 2020.
Burundi occupies the 159th place in the press freedom ranking established by RSF, whereas it was considered before the start of the crisis in 2015 as one of the few states in the Great Lakes region to have a press free and independent.
The country is going through a deadly crisis triggered by the announcement in April 2015 of the candidacy of President Pierre Nkurunziza for a controversial third term. He had been re-elected in July of the same year.
© 2020 AFP