State-sponsored commission exonerates Burundi of extrajudicial killing claims

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - A state-sponsored commission has exonerated the Burundi government of alleged cases of extrajudicial killings saying there was not sufficient evidence to support the allegations.

The commission arrived at the conclusion in its report released on Friday after a two-month investigation.

The commission of inquiry, comprising six judges, was established following allegations by the Association for the Protection and Defence of Human Rights (APRODH), which said 483 people were "summarily executed" during 2011 in Burundi.

The international human rights organization, Human Rights Watch (HRW), also published early this year an alarming report on the alleged extrajudicial killings in Burundi, which upset the Burundian government.

The Attorney General of Burundi, Valentin Bagoribarira, welcomed the findings of the commission saying, "It has emerged from the investigations that none of the crimes that have been documented could be considered as extrajudicial execution."

He recalled that under international law, extrajudicial execution is defined as "the intentional, deliberate, premeditated killing, use of force by States or their agents acting under the guise of law, or by an armed group in armed conflict against an individual".

He has also exculpated the defence and security sectors from the allegations of the reign of impunity within them.

"The statistics show that military and police who violate the law are prosecuted and punished," he said.

Pacific Nininahazwe, managing director of the Forum for the Strengthening of Civil Society (FORSC), a local NGO composed of 146 member associations, however, expressed a "huge disappointment" after the publication of the report, especially "for families of victims who were expecting that justice will be done".
-0- PANA FB/JSG/IBA/JEN/MA 24Aug2012