AAN: Ministre de la justice Mme Domine Banyankimbona  

Dear Minister, 

I am concerned by the continued arbitrary detention and unfair prosecution of journalist Floriane Irangabiye. On 2 May 2023, the Court of Appeal of Mukaza, in Bujumbura, Burundi, issued its decision to reject Floriane Irangabiye’s appeal and uphold her conviction of “undermining the integrity of the national territory” on account of comments she made on Radio Igicaniro in August 2022. The court reaffirmed her 10-year prison sentence and fine of one million Burundian francs (about 482 USD). The decision followed a hearing held at Muyinga prison, where she is detained, on 30 March 2023. 

I am concerned that the Court of Appeal failed to provide a remedy for violations of Floriane Irangabiye’s fair trial rights. While the court found that her initial interrogation by the National Intelligence Service (SNR) contravened Article 10 of the Criminal Procedure Code, as it was conducted without a lawyer present and without being informed of her right to remain silent, it did not offer a remedy because interrogation by the SNR was not one of the circumstances in which the law explicitly provides for nullifying the procedure. 

Floriane Irangabiye’s lawyers have submitted a further appeal request to the Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court. Her prosecution is politically motivated as it is in connection with her work as a journalist and the peaceful exercise of her human rights. 

I therefore urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that Floriane Irangabiye is immediately and unconditionally released, and her flawed conviction immediately quashed, as her prosecution and ongoing arbitrary detention are in violation of her rights to freedom of expression and fair trial. 

Yours sincerely,