Human Rights Defender Still Detained Despite Acquittal

Good information met dangerous the day prior to this in Burundi, because the attorney Tony Germain Nkina persevered to be held in jail in spite of his fresh acquittal, that means his detention is now unlawful.

Nkina, a attorney who up to now labored for a number one Burundian human rights group, is likely one of the final folks publicly related to the rustic’s as soon as thriving human rights motion and nonetheless in jail nowadays. In 2020, whilst visiting a shopper in Kabarore commune, he was once arrested and accused of running with armed teams. He was once in brief detained by way of the intelligence carrier in Kayanza, then transferred to police detention, and after all to Ngozi jail, the place he’s lately detained. Last 12 months, the courtroom of Kayanza convicted Nkina of “collaboration with rebels who attacked Burundi,” and sentenced him to 5 years in jail, in spite of no proof being offered towards him.

Thankfully, this conviction was once overturned by way of the rustic’s Supreme Court previous this month and the case was once despatched again to the attraction courtroom of Ngozi for retrial. On December 20, that courtroom acquitted him and his co-accused of all fees. It was once a unprecedented second of judicial independence in Burundi.

Following the excellent news of his acquittal, Nkina was once anticipating to be launched from jail, however the prosecutor didn’t signal his unencumber order. Instead, the prosecutor plans to document an attraction of the Ngozi courtroom’s judgement to the Supreme Court. Burundian regulation supplies for the instant unencumber of an individual who has been acquitted, without reference to an attraction. The government’ refusal to unencumber him is due to this fact unlawful and his persevered detention makes a mockery of all of the judicial machine.