{"id":425518,"date":"2011-05-17T13:11:12","date_gmt":"2011-05-17T13:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/17\/online-newspaper-editor-freed-after-10-months-in-detention\/"},"modified":"2011-05-17T13:11:12","modified_gmt":"2011-05-17T13:11:12","slug":"online-newspaper-editor-freed-after-10-months-in-detention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/online-newspaper-editor-freed-after-10-months-in-detention\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Newspaper Editor Freed After 10 Months in Detention"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Reporters sans Fronti\u00e8res<\/a> (Paris)<\/p>\n

17 May 2011<\/p>\n

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Reporters Without Borders is relieved by online newspaper editor Jean-Claude Kavumbagu’s release yesterday after being acquitted on a charge of treason for questioning in an article whether Burundi would be able to protect itself against a terrorist attack by Somalia’s Islamist militia Al-Shabaab. Prosecutors had requested a life sentence last month on 13 April.<\/p>\n

When dismissing the treason charge on 13 May, the Bujumbura court nonetheless sentenced Kavumbagu to eight months in prison and a fine of 100,000 Burundian francs (50 euros) on a lesser charge of publishing an article “liable to undermine the state’s credibility and national economy.” He was immediately freed because he had spent more than 10 months in pre-trial detention.<\/p>\n

“My article just expressed an opinion,” Kavumbagu told Reporters Without Borders as he left prison. “It is normal for the public to ask questions. I just did my job as a journalist, without accusing anyone. It is time the government kept its promises and stopped bringing criminal prosecutions over press cases.”<\/p>\n

Kavumbagu, who edits the online newspaper Net Press, added: “By prosecuting a journalist one month after a national conference on media and communication in March, the Burundian authorities flagrantly contradicted their statements.”<\/p>\n

Despite the arbitrary eight-month jail sentence, Kavumbagu said he planned to immediately resume working as a journalist and fighting for the decriminalization of media offences. “The permission the government gave to journalists to hold peaceful demonstrations on World Press Freedom Day already represents a step towards decriminalization. The government will gradually drop this practice and will change the press law.”<\/p>\n

Kavumbagu thanked the organizations, including Reporters Without Borders and Burundi’s journalists, which gave him their moral support while he was in prison.<\/p>\n

While relieved by Kavumbagu’s release, Reporters Without Borders points out that there were absolutely no grounds for him to have been held for 10 months. The case comes at a particularly bad time for the media in Burundi, with press freedom violations on the increase. Privately-owned radio stations are often urged to censor themselves and phone-in programmes are sabotaged.<\/p>\n

Eric Manirakiza, the manager of Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), said the two phone lines to the station’s studio were disconnected for seven days from 2 May, probably on the orders of the National Telecommunications Office to prevent listeners from participating in live phone-in programmes. The previous week, the station’s programme “Kabizi” was suspended by the National Communication Council from 26 to 29 April for “uncontrolled excesses.”<\/p>\n

Four RPA journalists – Raymon Zirampaye, Domithile Kiramvu, Bonfils Niyongere and Philbert Musobozi – are due to appear before a Bujumbura court for the third time on 9 June on charges of defaming and insulting Mayor Evrard Giswaswa in a series of reports beginning on 18 October 2010 about a brawl in which he was allegedly involved.<\/p>\n

Radio Isanganiro, another privately-owned station, is also being targeted by the authorities. Its editor in chief, Patrick Mitabaro, was summoned before the Bujumbura state prosecutor on 3 May for interviewing a government opponent in exile.<\/p>\n

The station’s fulltime correspondent in the central province of Mwaro, Laurent Ndikuriyo, was summoned before the province’s deputy prosecutor on 9 May for reporting four days earlier that a teacher was being investigated for falsifying a transfer order. Ndikuriyo was released after interrogation but was told to remain available for further questioning.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nMore News on allAfrica.com<\/strong><\/legend>\n<\/fieldset>\n

AllAfrica – All the Time<\/p>\n

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Continued here:
\nOnline Newspaper Editor Freed After 10 Months in Detention<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reporters sans Fronti\u00e8res (Paris) 17 May 2011 Reporters Without Borders is relieved by online newspaper editor Jean-Claude Kavumbagu’s release yesterday after being acquitted on a charge of treason for questioning in an article whether Burundi would be able to protect itself against a terrorist attack by Somalia’s Islamist militia Al-Shabaab. Prosecutors had requested a life sentence last month on 13 April. When dismissing the treason charge on 13 May, the Bujumbura court nonetheless sentenced Kavumbagu to eight months in prison and a fine of 100,000 Burundian francs (50 euros) on a lesser charge of publishing an article “liable to undermine the state’s credibility and national economy.” He was immediately freed because he had spent more than 10 months in pre-trial detention. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":399069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-425518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"yoast_head":"\nOnline Newspaper Editor Freed After 10 Months in Detention - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/17\/online-newspaper-editor-freed-after-10-months-in-detention\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Online Newspaper Editor Freed After 10 Months in Detention - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Reporters sans Fronti\u00e8res (Paris) 17 May 2011 Reporters Without Borders is relieved by online newspaper editor Jean-Claude Kavumbagu's release yesterday after being acquitted on a charge of treason for questioning in an article whether Burundi would be able to protect itself against a terrorist attack by Somalia's Islamist militia Al-Shabaab. Prosecutors had requested a life sentence last month on 13 April. When dismissing the treason charge on 13 May, the Bujumbura court nonetheless sentenced Kavumbagu to eight months in prison and a fine of 100,000 Burundian francs (50 euros) on a lesser charge of publishing an article "liable to undermine the state's credibility and national economy." 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