The media fraternity celebrates the early release of Floriane Irangabiye after she is granted full remission of the sentences handed down against her.
Please find below excerpts of statements by CPJ and RSF welcoming the release of journalist Floriane Irangabiye.
On 30 August 2022, Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye was arbitrarily arrested by the National Intelligence Service (SNR) shortly after returning to Burundi for a family visit from Rwanda, where she had been living. In January 2023, she was convicted, fined 1 million Burundian francs, and sentenced to ten years in prison. Irangabiye had been working for the online radio station Igicaniro, established by young Burundians living in exile in Rwanda.
In August this year, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye granted her a pardon and she was accorded an early release.
The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed the release of Irangabiye, who has served two years of a 10-year prison sentence, following the presidential pardon.
“Floriane Irangabiye’s imprisonment was deeply unjust, and it is a great relief that she has finally been freed after two years behind bars,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo, in Nairobi. “Authorities in Burundi must now ensure that no other journalist faces imprisonment for their work and that the media can work freely, without state interference or harassment.”
Continue reading the article on CPJ’s website
Pardoned by Burundi’s president in August, the journalist was serving a 10-year prison sentence for ‘undermining the integrity of national territory’. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes her release, but points out that Floriane Irangabiye should never have been arrested and locked up for doing her job as a journalist.
This is a huge relief in Burundi and for journalists around the world. Floriane Irangabiye, host of the radio station Igicaniro, has been granted full remission of the sentences handed down against her, according to a presidential decree signed on 14 August. She had been sentenced in January 2023 to 10 years‘ imprisonment for ‘undermining the integrity of national territory’. RSF has repeatedly denounced this harsh and arbitrary decision, based on spurious charges.
