Burundi Activist’s Conviction Sends ‘Chilling Message’ to Civil Society

September 10, 2018
News

On August 13, 2018, Burundian human rights activist Nestor Nibitanga was sentenced to five years in prison, accused of preparing reports on human rights abuses for an organization banned by the government—the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODEH). Prior to its forced closure in 2015, APRODEH was the leading reporter on human rights abuses in Burundi. In August 2015, the organization’s director survived an assassination attempt and has been forced to continue his work in exile.

Sentenced on charges of “undermining the internal security of the state,” Nibitanga’s imprisonment serves as yet another signal to civil society that dissent will not be tolerated in Burundi. “While many independent activists and journalists in Burundi have been forced into exile, the arrest of Nibitanga [sent] a chilling message to the few who have remained behind that they stay at their own peril,” remarked deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa division. Learn more about the dire state of civic space in Burundi here.