Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye has pardoned journalist Floriane Irangabiye, who had been serving a 10-year prison sentence.
The pardon was announced through a presidential order issued Wednesday.
Irangabiye, a talk show host for Igicaniro Radio, an online media outlet operating from abroad, was arrested in August 2022 after traveling to Burundi from Rwanda, where she had been living in exile.
She was convicted of undermining national security and collaborating with armed groups, charges that her colleagues and various human rights organizations had consistently contested, arguing that her arrest was a direct result of her work as a journalist.
The superior court of Ntahangwa had sentenced Irangabiye to a decade in prison, a ruling that sparked widespread condemnation from journalists' associations and human rights groups. These organizations had tirelessly campaigned for her release.
Speaking to reporters outside Bubanza Prison after her release Friday, Irangabiye said it was the news her family had been waiting for.
“I am very happy and have a lot to say," she said. "I am going to rejoin my family and meet my children again. I hope this is a special day for them. August 16, 2024, will always be a special date in my life, a date that will be part of my history in one way or another.”
She said her time behind bars had been trying and thanked those who pushed for her release.
“This is not a place you would wish anyone to be, not even your enemies. The pardon from President Evariste Ndayishimiye is something I will never forget. I have been touched in a special way. I am grateful to local and international human rights organizations that did a lot of advocacy on my behalf for such a day to happen,” she said.
The arrest highlighted a repressive media environment in Burundi where, according to Reporters Without Borders, media members face intimidation and live in fear of attacks or detention. Many practice self-censorship to report on issues in the country. VOA has been forbidden from broadcasting inside the country since 2018.
The news of Irangabiye's pardon has been met with joy and relief by her family, colleagues and supporters.
Irangabiye’s colleagues at Igicaniro Radio have expressed their belief that her arrest was a direct consequence of her reporting.
Jeremie Hatangimana called her release a victory for free press. “We are happy and grateful about the pardon and release, but this should not have happened in the first place,” he said.
Justine Nkurunziza, a member of Inamahoro, a women’s organization that advocates for peace and security, expressed her gratitude that Irangabiye would soon be reunited with her children.
“This is a moment of relief and joy,” she said.
Irangabiye’s sibling, who preferred not to be named, also said she was overjoyed by the news of the pardon. “We have been waiting for this moment for two long years,” she said.
Burundian rights group Ntabariza, which advocates on behalf of prisoners and their families, also welcomed Irangabiye’s release but called on Ndayishimiye to extend similar clemency to other individuals who they believe have been unjustly imprisoned, including another journalist, Sandra Umuhoza.
This story originated in VOA’s Central Africa Service.
