Burundi activist’s 32-year jail term cut to one

BUJUMBURA: A human rights activist in Burundi jailed for 32 years after protesting against the late president has had his sentence reduced to just one year, a rights group and judicial source said.

The verdict was announced just as Burundi’s EU ambassador said the bloc was considering lifting sanctions imposed on the country after a deadly political crisis in 2015.

Germain Rukuki was one of thousands arrested for protesting against then president Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial bid for a third term, and was given one of the heaviest sentences handed down to a rights activist in Burundi.

But his ruling was quashed last year by Burundi’s Supreme Court after Évariste Ndayishimiye took office following the sudden death of Nkurunziza.

Armel Niyongere, head of the human rights group Acat Burundi, told AFP on Monday that Rukuki had been re-tried at an appeals court in March.

“It delivered its verdict by reducing his sentence to one year in prison and a fine of 20 euros ($24) for ‘rebellion’,” he said.

A judicial source, who declined to be named, confirmed the information.

“We’re waiting for Rukuki, who has already served his sentence, to be released immediately,” Niyongere said.

The verdict was announced just moments after Ndayishimiye met Burundi’s EU ambassador Claude Bochu on Monday.

Bochu told reporters the bloc was considering lifting sanctions because of “positive developments initiated by the president in terms of good governance, rule of law and human rights.”

Ndayishimiye’s election last year has raised hopes for a more open political environment after many years of repression and violence in the troubled East African nation.

But in an open letter on Monday, 12 international NGOs raised concerns that the EU and some of its member states “seem willing to turn a blind eye on the lack of meaningful progress on the human rights situation”. |