Court acquits journalists charged with endangering security
New York, January 3, 2007—A court in Burundi today rebuffed the government, ordering the release of three journalists and rejecting the prosecution’s claim that their reporting in connection with an alleged coup plot compromised public security. A panel of judges in the capital Bujumbura acquitted editor Serge Nibizi and journalist Domitile Kiramvu of Radio Publique…
In Burundi, three radio journalists return to prison after one-day trial
New York, December 14, 2006—Three private radio journalists returned to prison today after their one-day trial in the capital, Bujumbura, according to local journalists. The three have been jailed for more than two weeks while a fourth journalist went into hiding after receiving a judicial summons. Since September, the government has cracked down on three…
Internet fuels rise in number of jailed journalists
New York, December 7, 2006–The number of journalists jailed worldwide for their work increased for the second consecutive year, and one in three is now an Internet blogger, online editor, or Web-based reporter, according to an analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Third radio journalist jailed in growing crackdown
New York, November 29, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists demands that three radio journalists jailed in Burundi in the past week, including Matthias Manirakiza detained today, be released immediately. “This looks more and more like a campaign to silence respected independent broadcasters who have spearheaded investigative reporting on human rights abuses and corruption,” said CPJ…
CPJ condemns imprisonment of two radio journalists
New York, November 22, 2006–Two journalists for the prominent independent radio station Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) were arrested today in Burundi over a story about an alleged coup plot, according to several local sources. Editor Serge Nibizi and journalist Domitile Kiramvu were summoned for questioning, served with an arrest warrant, and imprisoned on charges which…
CPJ condemns continuing harassment of radio journalists
New York, October 2, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the ongoing campaign of intimidation by the authorities in Burundi against radio stations that have cast doubt on a government claim to have uncovered a coup plot. The State Prosecutor today questioned three journalists from three independent stations about their sources for a…
Government harassment forces radio chief into hiding
New York, September 28, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the government of Burundi for a campaign of harassment and intimidation which has forced Alexis Sinduhije, the head of Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) into hiding. Communications Minister Karenga Ramadhani likened RPA to Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, the radio station that incited genocide in…
Journalist jailed for five months for remarks in a bar
New York, September 19, 2006—A reporter for the Burundian state news agency was sentenced to five months in jail on Monday for slandering the state in a private barroom conversation, according to media reports and the journalist’s lawyer. Aloys Kabura, a correspondent for Agence Burundaise de Presse in the northern province of Kayenza, has been…
CPJ condemns partial closure of private radio station
New York, August 21, 2006—Authorities in Burundi have stopped local broadcasts of the private radio station Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) in the northern province of Ngozi since Friday. The reason authorities gave for the closure was non-payment of broadcast license fees but several local sources told CPJ the move was in retaliation for RPA’s critical…