Joe McConnell
A talk show host jailed for undermining Burundi’s national integrity has been pardoned.
Floriane Irangabiye had been serving 18 months of a 10-year prison sentence when the presidency announced on Thursday that it would grant her “a full pardon.”
Before her arrest, the journalist lived in neighboring Rwanda, where she ran a media company called Radio Igicaniro, which regularly criticized the Burundian government.
At the time of her arrest two years ago, she had returned to Burundi to attend the funeral of a family member.
Burundi has a bad reputation when it comes to press freedom, ranking 108th out of 180 countries in the latest global index drawn up by the monitoring body Reporters Without Borders.
The announcement of Ms Irangabiye’s release came after she and her lawyers wrote letters to President Évariste Ndayishimiye calling for her release, her family says.
They also say that he has a serious medical condition that has worsened while he was in prison.
News of Ms Irangabiye’s pardon has been greeted with caution by local human rights groups, who are urging Burundi’s government to free others they say are unjustly imprisoned.
“Justice and human rights must be respected for all,” ACAT Burundi said, while FORSC said there were “thousands” of other political prisoners still “languishing” in the country’s prisons.
Another high profile inmate, a journalist named Sandra Muhoza who is being held on similar charges to those addressed to Mrs. Irangabiyeremains in the custody of the State.
The East African nation was known for political violence and the repression of dissenting voices under President Pierre Nkurunziza, who died suddenly aged 55 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Since being elected in 2020, President Ndayishimiye has been credited with improving Burundi’s international relations and implement some reforms at homeBut analysts say too little progress has been made and Human rights violations continue.
