Burundi’s president pardons female journalist convicted of endangering state integrity

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye has pardoned a female journalist who had been jailed for endangering the state's integrity, the president’s office announced in a decree Thursday.

The decree said Radio Igicaniro host Floriane Irangabiye “benefits from total remission” of the penalty.

Irangabiye was arrested in August 2022 on charges including endangering state security and collaborating with rebel movements.

Burundi’s High Court in the economic capital Bujumbura convicted Irangabiye of “endangering the integrity of the national territory” and sentenced her to 10 years in prison in January 2023.

On May 2, 2023, Burundi’s Court of Appeal upheld the conviction following an appeal.

Last year, Amnesty International described her conviction and imprisonment as a “travesty and flagrant violation of her rights to freedom of expression and to a fair trial.”

The non-governmental organization said Irangabiye’s prosecution was based on comments made during a radio show for Radio Igicaniro, an online platform in exile, in which she and other guests were critical of the Burundian government.

Her lawyers told local media that with the presidential pardon, Irangabiye will be released immediately from the central prison of Bubanza.