Media watchdog refers case of Burundian journalist to Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression in Africa
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - As the appeal hearing of Burundian journalist Sandra Muhoza has been postponed again, media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has contacted the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa to ask the Burundian authorities about the journalist's fate.
According to RSF, the appeal trial of Muhoza, initially scheduled for 4 March and then adjourned to 11 March, has again been postponed to 19 March.
According to her lawyer, Prosper Niyoyankana, the reason for the postponement is “the unavailability of the vehicle used to transport detainees from Mpimba central prison due to a lack of fuel”.
The journalist from the La Nova Burundi news website has been held “arbitrarily” since 18 April 2024.
RSF has referred the matter to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), the main body dealing with human rights violations in Africa. The organisation is asking the Special Rapporteur to question the Burundian authorities about the journalist's fate as soon as possible.
“It is time that the detention of this unjustly convicted journalist comes to an end. We have decided to refer the matter to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa so that the Burundian authorities can be called to account for the arbitrary nature of this detention. They must take the full measure of this act of repression and release her immediately,” said Sadibou Marong, Director of RSF's Sub-Saharan Africa office.
Muhoza was sentenced on 16 December 2024 to 21 months in prison - 18 months for “undermining the integrity of the national territory” and three months for “racial aversion” - for having relayed, in a private WhatsApp group of media professionals, information about an alleged distribution of arms by the current government.
Burundi is ranked 108th out of 180 countries in RSF's World Press Freedom Index for 2024.
-0- PANA TNDD/JSG/BBA/MA 12March2025
