The Identity Of The Alleged Assassins Is Kept Hidden By The Police As Well As Their Conditions Of Detention

In this SOS-Torture report of 16 to 23 July 2016, we recall the arbitrary arrests that continued with more intensity in the city of Bujumbura including Musaga area described by the Bujumbura power of protest area of ​​the 3rd term of the President of the Republic Pierre Nkurunziza.

Dozens of people have been victims daily raids in Musaga, selected for hours at the chief town of the area. Ransoming forced led by officers of the police force has become a habit, and the only hope for the people victims of these raids can recover their freedom soon.
In addition to these raids, fourteen people were arrested earlier by the police, sometimes by agents of the National Service of renseignements.A Makamba in the south of the country, sharpened youth party CNDD-FDD power recurred in illegally conducting arrests, sometimes with beatings to the victims.

The report also mentions the arrest police said three suspects in the murder of the member of EALA Hafsa Mossi shot dead in Bujumbura dated 13.07.2016. The identity of the alleged assassins is kept hidden by the police as well as their conditions of detention.

1. Arbitrary arrests, abductions and enforced disappearances continue

• Police conducted a raid dated July 16, 2016 in Buringa area Gihanga commune, Bubanza province (a few kilometers west of Bujumbura). About twenty targeted households were searched and the occupants gathered in the same place for hours. Witnesses indicate that gathered people were beaten and robbed of their belongings by police officers accompanied by soldiers. These roundup operations are increasingly carried out by police who benefits from the ‘chaos’ to steal money and demand for bribes in exchange for the release of the victims of untimely arrest.

• A young man named Jean Claude Nkunzimana was arrested on the evening of July 16, 2016 in the town Mabanda, Makamba province (south). The arrest is illegal because it was conducted by youth ‘Imbonerakure’ of the ruling CNDD-FDD accompanied by police. No warrant was presented and the search conducted at the home of the young man was allowed no input, while ‘Imbonerakure’ accused of belonging to a rebel group. Relatives and legal professionals denounce this attitude as an arbitrary arrest. The young man is detained in jail Town Makamba.

• Another young man named Jean Claude Nimubona was arrested dated July 15, 2016 in the town Kibago, Makamba province (south). The operation was conducted by police but the decision to stop it emanates from the National Intelligence Service. The young man is accused of endangering the internal security of the state but relatives report that it is a mere pretext that the authority has found to punish those who participated in protests against the third term of President Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza in April and May 2015. the young man went to Kibago for lifting final mourning his mother planned the next day ceremonies he was not allowed to participate.

• Three other men were arrested illegally by young ‘Imbonerakure’ in the Commune and Province Makamba (south) on 17 July 2016. This is Kevin Niyibitegeka, embedded Emmanuel Ndayirata and Nestor Nibitanga for dungeon Makamba police. Witnesses indicate that the three men were assaulted and tied up and taken away in a police vehicle, and that the presence of the governor of Makamba province. Youth affiliated to the ruling party regularly operate such operations in various localities as Burundian law allows only police and prosecutors to conduct an arrest. No other authority has the powers to make an arrest, much less the young political party as long as they have not invested in the quality of “CPO”. They unfortunately with the connivance of the administrative and police authorities, as provincial commissioners of police and some provincial governors.

• Five young men were arrested July 17, 2016 by police in the town Mwumba, Ngozi province (north). Those arrested are students (5 boys and 1 girl) living in the IDP site in Ngozi Ruhororo who traveled to Rwanda. No violations were alleged to these young people. Relatives denounce arbitrary and abusive arrests and demand their release.

• Another raid was conducted as of July 18, 2016 in Musaga area (south of Bujumbura). Witnesses indicate that a hundred people were arrested by the police and forced to pay bribes to be released. After this raid, someone was shipped to the dungeon of the Musaga area.

• Agents of the National Intelligence Service arrested a man named Placide at his home located at 13th Avenue neighborhood Nyakabiga II (center of Bujumbura) dated 20 July 2016. The operation was conducted by Joseph Mathias Niyonzima service information, very quoted in crimes including extrajudicial executions since the beginning of the crisis in April 2015 (cfr SOS-Torture reports Burundi No. 3, 5, 9 and 10). Witnesses say he has publicly threatened to kill the relatives and the man arrested.

• Police arrested three men in the area Buringa, Gihanga commune, Bubanza province (a few kilometers west of Bujumbura) dated July 20, 2016 in the evening. Of the three men face a local political representative of the opposition party MSD Immanuel Nibaruta; a former soldier named Théodore Nsengiyumva who is currently an elected hilly and Gérard Nsabimana. Witnesses indicate that the three victims were locked in an unofficial place of detention, then held the next day in the dungeon of Bubanza police. Families and relatives fear for their safety because having been informed that they have suffered acts of torture soon after their arrests.

• The police conducted another raid in the Musaga area (south of Bujumbura) on 21 July 2016. At least one hundred fifty (150) people were systematically arrested and gathered in groups for hours without cause. the police officers demanded that fighters surrender. After being forcibly kept, one hundred and fifty (150) people were released. These raids untimely and unjustified constitute intimidation and harassment of the inhabitants of the city of Bujumbura; they are conducted mainly in the districts known protest of the 3rd term of the President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza but Musaga area is particularly targeted.

2.killings, summary executions and armed attacks listed

• A man named Polycardo was injured in an armed attack at his home on Murago hill town Ndava, Mwaro province (center of the country) in the evening of 14 July 2016. The victim is a member of the ruling party merchant CNDD-FDD who recognized his attackers. Three of them were arrested in possession of grenades and it turns out they are part of the league ‘Imbonerakure’ young CNDD-FDD party. Witnesses in the neighborhood are very concerned because these arrests confirm that civilians youth of the ruling party are in illegal possession of weapons with the knowledge of local authorities. It also observes the complicity of members of the security services and the judiciary who have decided to release the three suspects arrested yet in possession of weapons.

• A man was shot in the Bwiza area (center of Bujumbura) in the evening of 18 July 2016. The victim’s name is Vedaste. Witnesses say he was murdered by two gunmen as he was returning home .

• A woman called Capitoline Ntarwimo was murdered on the evening of July 19, 2016 at his home in Rubona area Mugina commune, Cibitoke province (north-west). Witnesses report that the victim was killed by knives and three children were injured. The body found wrapped in a bag 

• A body of a murdered man was discovered on July 20, 2016 in the Kajaga district Mutimbuzi commune, Bujumbura province. The victim, who was not identified was subsequently packed in a bag. .

3. Three arrested in the case of former MP Hafsa Mossi
    
   The National Police said it had arrested Thursday, July 21, 2016 three suspects in the case of the assassination of the Burundian Member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Hafsa Mossi (see SOS-Torture report Burundi No. 31). However, it has not disclosed the names of the arrested suspects but adds that the alleged perpetrators have confessed to have received “orders and funding from other elements based in Kigali.”This announcement is very vague and does not know the suspects detention conditions or if they have all the necessary safeguards provided by law for the manifestations of the truth. Their place of detention has also not disclosed.

4. High school students accused of loose scrawl

After nearly a month in detention, six Rumonge students were released on 22 July 2016. They were arrested June 25, 2016 to scrawl the picture of President Burundians found in textbooks (see report SOS-Torture Burundi No. 28).

With these releases, there are still eleven students detained in the country for these scribbles, seven are in Muramvya and four more in Cankuzo. The fate of these students, prosecuted for insulting the Head of State, is exaggerated even more no proof of guilt has been established by the police or prosecution before.

The SOS-Torture Campaign Burundi Condemns This Violation Of The Law

In this SOS-Torture report of 23 to 30 July 2016, we start with an introductory word on the diplomatic incident, caused by the Burundi government delegation on the last day of the review of Burundi to the United Nations Committee against torture this Friday, 29/07/2016, then we evoke, arbitrary arrests that continued intensity in Bujumbura including qualified Musaga protest zone area of ​​the 3rd term of the President of the Republic Pierre Nkurunziza.
Two raids were conducted with the arrest of a hundred people to each operation. The reason given by the police search of armed fighters, but locals refer to harassment and intimidation by police officers. After a so-called identity check, people have been released with the exception of about thirty persons held Friday.
At least seventy-five (75) people were arrested earlier by the police, sometimes by agents of the national intelligence service in different localities. Among them, enforced disappearances including a journalist of the newspaper group Iwacu named Jean Bigirimana. He is missing since his arrest July 22, 2016 by agents of the National Intelligence Service.
The report also gives information on a case of flagrant violation of the law including the Convention against Torture. This is a named Jean Bosco Cishahayo police officer nicknamed ‘Kabanda’ which has benefited from a presidential pardon and was released in the month of March 2016 while the torturer repeat offender was sentenced to five ( 5) years’ imprisonment in May 2014 for torturing a resident of Ruyigi.
The latter is dedicated to the death of a young inmate Muyinga in which the prison authorities refused the right to be treated by an authorized structure.

1. SOS-Torture Campaign Burundi condemns the attitude of the Government in the analysis of Burundi by the Committee against Torture (CAT)

The delegation of Burundian Government which was in Geneva for a special session of the Burundi analysis by the United Nations Committee against Torture (July 28-29 2016) turned his back to the Committee by refusing to answer questions from experts.
The Government had nevertheless sent its report to the Committee, albeit belatedly given the agreed deadlines, and experts of the Committee against Torture (CAT) and civil society organizations (who had also developed their alternative report) expected to specific answers.
The SOS-Torture Campaign Burundi who was represented at the session expressed surprise at the attitude of the Burundian authorities to categorically refuse to come and give answers to questions of committee experts calling for more time to analyze the allegations organizations civil society while the session was known involved since March.
We believe it is an escape from responsibility, especially since experts CAT, very aware of the situation in Burundi, had asked very relevant and documented questions to the Minister of Justice, Head of the Delegation of the Burundian government.

2. Arbitrary arrests, abductions and enforced disappearances continue

• The police resumed become weekly roundups in Musaga area (south of Bujumbura) dated 25 July 2016. The operation was conducted jointly with the military in the area Kinanira I. All the young men were routinely required to report members of the security forces. Witnesses indicate that a hundred young people were arrested and taken to the offices of the Musaga area for identification. This identification process is done on the basis of identity cards and household notebooks, a document required from the beginning of the crisis and which is governed by no law in Burundi. Officially, the police and the military say they are looking for fighters hiding in the Musaga area, but residents denounce harassment and relentless intimidation for the sole fact that the area has demonstrated in 2015 against the third term of the President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza.Journalist Jean Bigirimana, missing since July 22, 2016• On 22 July 2016 a journalist named Jean Bigirimana was arrested by men in civilian on Highway No. 1 (RN 1) at Bugarama (34 kilometers north of Bujumbura). The journalist works for the Iwacu press group. Relatives and officials of Iwacu however ignore his whereabouts and are concerned for his safety. The newspaper’s editor testified that he conducted audits within the police, the National Intelligence Service and prisons of Burundi without success.
• This is an enforced disappearance also concerned that the human rights activists and the media professionals organizations. The press group Iwacu’s investigation and certifies that the journalist Jean Bigirimana was arrested by agents of the National Intelligence Service who boarded a van to Muramvya. The journalist fell into an ambush of an acquaintance. Until then, the police and the intelligence service denied having conducted the arrest of Jean Bigirimana.
The complete survey Iwacu published on 29 July: http: //www.iwacu-burundi.org/flou-autour-dune-arrestation/
• A young man named Gaspard tried to get out of a dungeon of the National Intelligence Service in Muramvya (Central Region), dated 26 July 2016. Witnesses indicate that the young man in question was still wearing handcuffs and tried to escape the torture he had to endure all night .. the witnesses were alerted by the shots fired to prevent him from continuing his flight. SNR agents were able to catch the young man who was injured by the shots, and beat him being handcuffed before the police chief of the province Muramvya intervenes and decides to imprison him in a dungeon known to the police rather than rely on SNR agents.
These agents are often denounced by victims of torture and other inhuman treatment. Abuse they inflict out of sight and in places of detention are not recognized by law, such as the case of this young man tortured in a room located in the same enclosure as the house occupied by the head of SNR in Muramvya .
• Four people were arrested by agents of the National Intelligence Service in Ngozi province (north) on 26 July 2016. It is Joseph Hitimana, Protais Ndagijimana, Mathias and Eliachim Mbarushimana from Rwanda and all worked for a local restaurant. Relatives concerned about the arrests, especially in this time of crisis when the Burundian authorities regularly target in Rwanda, accusing want to destabilize Burundi.
• Six people were arrested by police in the area Kiryama, Songa commune, Bururi province (south) on 27 July 2016. The police fired several times before conducting arrests and passing people to tobacco arrested. Witnesses indicate that the police chief was present during the arrest but that the place of detention was not disclosed to the families and relatives who care for victims’ safety.
• The police also arrested fifty people on the evening of July 27, 2016 in Rumonge province (south). The police authorities said that these people were in three buses and transport are fighters who were preparing to carry out attacks. They also announced the seizure of weapons and military effects in their possession. However, the police refused to give the names of those arrested. It also said nothing about the place and conditions of detention of such persons.
• Police arrested two other people in the Ndonzi sector Maramvya hill town Burambi, Bururi province (south) on 27 July 2016. This is Innocent Sibomana Vital Irambona and two young men arrested their homes. Witnesses report that police were accompanied by administrative officials at the base and Imbonerakure youth affiliated to the CNDD-FDD. Police officers claimed to be looking for authors gunfire heard the day before, but the excavations in households have not worked. Families are worried about the safety of these two young men.
For the second time in the week, police conducted another raid in the Musaga area (south of Bujumbura) on 29 July 2016. About a hundred people were gathered and the police demanded their identity cards and notebooks households. Many have been released but about thirty people, mostly domestic, were taken to the offices of the Musaga area.Mr. Nahisubije arrested by the SNR in a cemetery• A man named Michel Nahisubije was arrested July 29, 2016 at Taba in Bururi province by agents of the National Intelligence Service. This man is also responsible for the local UPRONA party (the wing of the opposition, which is not recognized by the government) as well as technical advisor to the communal administrator of Bururi. His family are concerned about the arrest conducted in a cemetery where M.Nahisubije supervised the preparation work of the grave of his grandfather.
• Ten other people were arrested in Rumonge the home of a former MP named Saleh Mpawenimana dated 29 July 2016. The police first conducted a search before boarding these people in jail in the police Rumonge . All those arrested are relatives of former MP who himself fled fearing for his safety.

3.Assassinats, summary executions and armed attacks listed

• The family of one Joseph Bazirakumbona Muramba of the area, common Bubanza, Bubanza province was attacked on July 22, 2016 at his home. Witnesses (reported by RPP radio), the perpetrators of the attack are Imbonerakure youth affiliated to the party CNDD-FDD to the resort. They ransacked the family property and burned the remains before boarding the wife of Mr. Bazirakumbona. The head of the family had to flee, fearing for his safety; as well as their children. The police did not investigate to arrest the perpetrators of the attack. Local administrative authorities, like the police are also complicit in the violence.
• A young man named Deo was injured during an armed attack in the Ndonzi sector Maramvya hill town Burambi, Bururi province (south) on the evening of 24 July 2016. The perpetrators of the attack are unknown but witnesses speak for reaction retaliatory actions for unsafe acts imputed to the victim who would be an activist of the ruling CNDD-FDD.
• Two men were shot dead July 27, 2016 in Bwiza area (center of Bujumbura). The victims are a taxi driver named Jean Paul Niyonzima and a client named Gasongo he was driving. They were killed on 7th Avenue in front of a hotel (Gloria) by an armed group.
• Three people were shot dead in the evening of 28 July 2016 on the Nyakirwa hill town Gisozi, Mwaro province (central Somalia). The attack took place in a bar in the locality where the victims were having a drink. The perpetrators of the attack are not known but stole those who were there all that they had in their pockets before knocking down two. Witnesses indicate that the third person shot is called Prosper Arakaza ‘January’. Members who intervened announce that last person was part of the group that came to steal and slaughter clients bistro. The attack also wounded four.

4.The disturbing case of a young inmate died

The SOS-Torture Campaign Burundi became aware of the case of a young prisoner of Muyinga prison who died at the hospital Muyinga (north) on 25 July 2016. It is Elias Nishemezwe , a 17-year arrested a month earlier in Muyinga on his return from Tanzania. Relatives reported that the young man was sick and asked the authority of Muyinga prison leave to seek treatment, permission was denied repeatedly.
Seeing his condition worsen dramatically, other inmates rioted to demand his transfer to a medical center. The young Elias Nishemezwe however died on arrival at hospital Muyinga then he started vomiting blood. This case of death due to negligence is a criminal act of the authorities of Muyinga prison, where similar cases have occurred.
This is also the case in the Bujumbura jail called Mpimba where a detainee named Busuguru Bienvenu (37 years) died March 12, 2014 for not having been allowed out of prison to receive appropriate care.

5. A police officer convicted of torture pardoned in violation of the law and the Convention against Torture ratified by Burundi

• Police Officer and torturer recidivist, in 2007 Jean Bosco Cishahayo nicknamed ‘Kambanda has been sentenced by the court of first instance of Rutana to a term of seven (7) years’ imprisonment for raping a minor. The officer was released two years after being cleared by the Court of Appeal of Gitega.
• In July 2012 Cishahayo John Bosco tortured to death a citizen of Ruyigi. Prosecutors in Ruyigi had before but never took the matter in hand. Thus the NGO ACAT-Burundi made a direct quote High Court Ruyigi and dated 27/02/2013 John Bosco Cishahayo was convicted and sentenced to five (5) years’ imprisonment and to pay the victim a sum of two million Burundians franc (2,000,000 BIF) in compensation. Prosecutors in Ruyigi that has been characterized by a total inertia for the second time refused to executing the judgment had been rendered by the Tribunal de Grande Instance Ruyigi. In order to make escape the verdict, the Police Directorate has mutated to the torturer Bugendana in Gitega Province.
• A year after the judgment and the refusal of Ruyigi parquet to the implementation judgment, recidivist torturer was again tortured Bugendana a teacher of primary school in Gitega province. With the pressure of ACAT and APRODH organizations, the torturer was finally arrested on 05.06.2014 and immediately appealed; but the Court of Appeal also confirmed the judgment of the High Court of Ruyigi through its judgment RPA 2066 / GIT.
• To our surprise, and in flagrant violation of the commitments made upon ratification of the Convention against Torture as well as the optional protocol that classifies torture offenses among the inalienable and inamnistiables crimes, during the visit of the Secretary General of Nations United in Burundi, the President of the Republic had accepted that he would release two thousand (2,000) prisoners whose convictions were final up date of 31/12/2015. Paradoxically, the reality has been different because the decree 100/41 issue of 23.02.2016 on measures of grace, the torturer John Bosco Cishahayo said ‘Kabanda’ was among those who received the grace of the President and left the prison on 03/23/2016.
• To make up this grace that is contrary to the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol, another Supreme Court RPC 3207 fell slightly in after his release and quashed the judgment of the Court of Appeal and Gitega in flagrant violation of the procedure of the appeal; because the parties to the case have never been informed that there was cassation especially a two-month appeal period had been exceeded.
• The SOS-Torture Campaign Burundi condemns this violation of the law and the international legal instruments that Burundi has ratified and request clarifications from the conditions that have been put forward and that made a torturer is on the list of individuals receiving a presidential pardon in flagrant violation of the commitments made by Burundi but also by the President to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

The Imbonerakure Militia Youth Of The Ruling CNDD-FDD Still Committing Abuses

In the report of SOS-Torture / Burundi from 30 July to 6 August 2016, we will first evoke the Bar listing request Bujumbura against four lawyers from the Attorney General at the Court of Appeal of Bujumbura. The Campaign SOS Torture / Burundi qualifies this request as an attempt to sabotage the work of defenders who seized the various regional, international and UN mechanisms not to mention the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the serious violations of human rights in Burundi . We also back on Arbitrary arrests have continued in some localities. The case of journalist Jean Bigirimana press group Iwacu is also discussed, with the odds increasingly meager living recover the more than two weeks after his abduction by individuals identified as agents of the National Intelligence Service (SNR). In addition to enforced disappearance, another journalist Burundi was attacked with knives in Kampala, Uganda where he is exiled.The Imbonerakure militia youth of the ruling CNDD-FDD still committing abuses including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. They also conduct illegal arrest operations. The report also comes on the release of five students detained for two months to scrawl the picture of President Pierre Nkurunziza in textbooks. 

1. SOS-Torture Campaign Burundi denounces a hard power against Burundian lawyers

On 29 July 2016 the Public Prosecutor at the Bujumbura Appeals Court sent a letter to the President of the Bar of Lawyers by the Court of Appeal of Bujumbura to request the removal of four lawyers and defenders Human rights. It is : • Master Armel NIYONGERE ( President of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture ( ACAT- Burundi ) , initiator and coordinator of this campaign SOS-Torture / Burundi ) and is part of the legal team representing 60 families of victims of extrajudicial executions that have recently entered the International Criminal Court . • Vital NSHIMIRIMANA Master ( General Delegate of the Forum for the Strengthening of Civil Society FORSC and president of the Campaign to Stop the 3rd mandate ) • Master Dieudonné Bashirahishize ( Vice President of the East Africa Law Society, and President of Lawyers’ Collective of Victims of International rights crimes ( CAVIB ) .• Master NIGARURA Lambert (President of the Burundian Coalition for the International Criminal Court and Deputy Coordinator of the SOS-Torture Campaign Burundi ) In addition to their activities within their respective organizations, the four defenders are victims of lawsuits they filed against the State of Burundi to regional and international courts (Community Court of Justice of Africa East, International Criminal Court and African commission on Human Right and people). They also participate in the development of alternative reports to the UN troops and African mechanisms on violations of human rights. The most emblematic case and would probably cause this persecution is the recent session of the UN Committee against Torture held on 28 and 29 July 2016 in a special session to analyze the situation in Burundi. This historic session was marked by the inability of the Government of Burundi to answer questions from experts on serious violations of human rights. This approach of Bujumbura power is a work of attempted sabotage of these lawyers and human rights defenders wanting to deprive them of a lawyer following the gripes before international courts.  

2. Arbitrary arrests , abductions and enforced disappearances continue

• Journalist Jean Bigirimana Iwacu the Press Group has still not been recovered more than two weeks after his abduction . The journalist was arrested by agents of the National Intelligence Service Bugarama July 22, 2016 and taken to Muramvya ( Central Region), according to several witnesses called by the Iwacu newspaper (see report SOS-Torture Burundi No. 33) but the service national Intelligence ( SNR) and the police deny having arrested M.Bigirimana.La independent national Commission on human rights ( CNIDH ) was seized by the Iwacu newspaper announced but not having found the journalist.Jean Bigirimana’s Family and colleagues are very worried and fear that the worst has occurred , that he was executed . Journalist Jean Bigirimana , missing since July 22, 2016 Mr. Severin Ntirugayimvo , FRODEBU party official arrested July 29, 2016 • A man named Severin Ntirugayimvo was arrested dated July 29, 2016 in the town Nyabikere, Karuzi province (north-east). This man is the provincial representative of the opposition party FRODEBU. His family are worried and suggest political motives because no charges were brought against the political opponent.
• Agents of the National Intelligence Service arrested three people as of July 30, 2016 in Buyenzi area (center of Bujumbura Mairie). All were apprehended at the 25th avenue without any reason being given for their arrest. The relatives were not informed of their whereabouts and are concerned for their safety. Those arrested face a man named Dieudonne Ndayisenga.
• A man named Sadik Nahimana was arrested by police officers on July 30, 2016 at Rumonge (south) in Swahili neighborhood where he lives. This man is a bus driver and works in this southern region of the country. Witnesses indicate that police first searched his home but found nothing suspicious, before boarding M.Nahimana to the dungeon of Rumonge police. The family learned that Sadik Nahimana is accused of having transported three times fighters south of the country but is concerned for his safety because no proof of guilt was provided.
• Police raids resumed operations in the Musaga area (south of Bujumbura Mairie) dated 1 August 2016. The law enforcement official invoke be looking for armed fighters who were hiding in households. A hundred youths were arrested and gathered for hours before being released. The people of Musaga evoke constant harassment of unreasonably police. During these operations, assumed no fighter has ever been arrested and no weapons were seized.
• A man named Jean Bosco Kiyange was arrested August 2, 2016 by Imbonerakure young members of the ruling party CNDD-FDD in the town Kayogoro, Makamba province (south). The arrest took place after an illegal search-search conducted by these young people in his hotel Kayogoro. According to police, M.Kiyange is currently with the National Intelligence Service but no charges were brought against him. Witnesses indicate that it is a victim of its origin, the town Mukike, an area deemed by the government as dissident 3rd mandate of the President of Burundi. The man was released August 5, 2016 but close whistleblowers young CNDD-FDD party.Mr. Ndikumana, a teacher arrested in Gihanga• The police also arrested a man named Jean Baptiste Ndikumana dated August 2, 2016 in the town Gihanga, Bubanza province (a few kilometers west of Bujumbura). This man is a teacher who is accused by the police of collaborating with armed fighters. Relatives report that M.Ndikumana was trapped by another individual for a still unresolved pattern. Agents of the National Intelligence Service from Bujumbura arrived in Gihanga to recover M.Ndikumana who had spent the night at the police brigade. Family and friends are concerned for his safety. 3.killings, summary executions and armed attacks listed• An armed attack took place on the evening of July 31, 2016 at the 3rd cross, Gihanga commune, Bubanza province (a few kilometers north-west of Bujumbura). Witnesses report that two people were injured in the attack which targeted a freight truck.
• The body of a woman named Libérate Mpfagutunga was found dated 1 August 2016 in the Rukeco area Busiga commune, Ngozi province (north). Relatives believe she was murdered because of his political affiliation to the MSD, an opposition party whose activists are regularly persecuted.
• Seven people were injured in a grenade attack in a bar in the area Ruziba, Bujumbura province. Unknown assailants threw two grenades and one of the injured victims was a soldier.
• A decomposed body was found on the river Mubarazi on Nyabisiga hill town Muramvya (Central Region) on 5 August 2016. Eyewitnesses quoted by Radio Publique Africaine in his radio program Humura indicate that this body had was seen for the first time, tied up and attached to stones, July 28, 2016 the day after gunshots heard. The victim could not be identified but this brutal murder arouses fear of the inhabitants. Boaz Ntaconayigize journalist attacked with knives (right) 4. A journalist assaulted in exileThe journalist Boaz Ntaconayigize of Bonesha Fm radio was attacked by individuals in Kampala, Uganda where he is in exile following the persecution of journalists since the beginning of the crisis. The journalist was wounded with knives and cudgels and said he recognized two Burundians from his attackers. This is the first time a journalist is attacked Burundians in exile for several dozen of them had to flee after attacks radios for which they worked.

5. A second detainee died in Muyinga

The Campaign SOS-Torture Burundi had reported in its previous report (cf. Report No. 33) the case of a young prisoner, Elias Nishemezwe of Muyinga prison who died at the hospital Muyinga (north) in dated July 25, 2016 as having been taken to hospital late, saw that the prison had refused to grant him a release to receive appropriate care.

On 30 July 2016 a second detainee named Gervais Sinabakize died following another negligence Officer of Muyinga prison. Informed of the health of the inmate who demanded permission to seek treatment in a hospital, the management refused to agree. The detainee was taken to hospital where his condition had worsened and did not survive.

6. Students detainees released to scrawl

Five high school students Muramvya (center of the country) who were arrested for scribbling the picture of the President of Burundi in textbooks were released on 3 August 2016. However, two other students remain in detention: Perfect Iradukunda and Alexis Mugerowimana. These students were detained June 3, 2016 and charged with “insulting the Head of State” (cf. reports SOS-Torture Burundi No. 26-27), and are free after two months of detention at the prison. They however were unable to complete the school year as their peers, which is a violation of their right to education.

As of July 22, 2016, six students from Rumonge (south), held for the same reasons, were released (see SOS-Torture report Burundi No. 32).

Currently, in addition to these two students Muramvya, there are still four students Cankuzo detained in the neighboring province of Ruyigi (east of the country) for this scribble case the picture of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

Violation Of The Constitution And The Arusha Agreement For Peace And Reconciliation In Burundi

1. This report is published a year after the outbreak of the bid protest crisis of President Pierre Nkurunziza in the third term as president of the country in violation of the Constitution and the Arusha Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Burundi.

2. The general finding is that during this period the situation of human rights has gradually deteriorated in a context where state services responsible for protecting the population have difficulties stem the worrying phenomenon of crime and serious violations of human rights in the country.

3. While the clashes between police and armed groups in some areas of Bujumbura Mairie that characterized the beginning of the 1st half of 2016 ceased to satisfy the people of Bujumbura . But security remains severely compromised by numerous cases of arbitrary arrests , targeted killings , enforced disappearances , torture and extrajudicial executions whose perpetrators remain ” not found ” and unpunished.

4. The investigation and prosecution often promised by the authorities in charge of Security and Justice does not seem to have a positive impact because the weapons that have marred regularly families still circulating illegally in not yet claimed armed groups Imbonerakure militiamen CNDD-FDD , complicit with the administration and the police.

5. Thus, the number of victims of assassinations , from March 12 to June 30, 2016 , amounted to 90 people killed , including 40 unidentified . In the previous quarter, 44 cases of targeted killings were recorded from which 134 targeted killings in the first half of 2016 .

6. The killings , dubbed enforced disappearances not only prevail civilians but also soldiers and policemen supposed to be protectors of the population. At the FDN , victims number in the majority among former FAB although the former PMPA are also targeted small number compared to the former FAB .

7. Accordingly, the tension rises in the member of the National Defence Force (FDN) which break would be fatal to the peace and the country’s overall security. Indeed, the phenomenon is observed in a context where the CNDD -FDD government wants to print an ethnic touch to the crisis, raising fears of invisible hand of state agents or their accomplices behind these crimes , especially after the attempted coup of May 13, 2015 .

8. Concerning arbitrary arrests, 1,291 cases were recorded (including 1,177 unidentified victims and 114 victims identified ) during the period from 12 March and 30 June 2016. During the previous period of December 9, 2015 and March 11 2016 SOS- Torture / BURUNDI had identified 736 victims people (including 316 identified victims and 420 unidentified ) . Thus, SOS- Torture / BURUNDI are a total of 2,027 arbitrary arrests in the 1st semester 2016 .

9. Often , the victims are arrested by the Police without warrant , sometimes in collusion with the militias Imbonerakure CNDD-FDD and are held at unknown locations by their relatives . We are witnessing even during some arrests to the phenomenon of hostage taking which , failing to hand over the requested person is stopped spouse or child. Several corruption cases have been reported where the police demanded a ransom to release the victims arrested irregularly. 

10. At the political affiliation of the victims, those of the MSD ( Movement for Solidarity and Democracy) and FNL ( National Liberation Forces ) are the most numerous independent . Other victims are in the category of those who demonstrated against the third term of President Pierre Nkurunziza or that of those who are suspected of complicity with the armed groups. The victims also included students accused of scribbling of President Nkurunziza ‘s picture in the provinces of Rumonge Karusi , Ruyigi , Bujumbura Mairie, Muramvya towards the end of the school year.

11. One of the serious consequences of these arbitrary arrests is the deterioration of prison conditions in the prisons and the prisons where the host capacity is very limited compared to the high number of defendants ; this is compounded by the slow progress of court records . 

12. As regards the geographical distribution of arbitrary arrests , we note that the most affected are the Mayor of Bujumbura and specifically in the town of Musaga south of the capital, followed by the Bururi province , especially in common Mugamba . The peculiarity of these two areas is that they have distinguished themselves in the protests against the third term of President Nkurunziza. It is in these places that administrative officials CNDD- FDD in particular and police were the target of assassinations by armed groups .

13. Concerning torture and other cruel , inhuman or degrading treatment , the cases recorded by SOS- Torture fall short of reality because access to places of detention and torture as the SNR and other dungeons Police is still prohibited for human rights activists . The case most visible torture occur during arbitrary arrests where victims are violently beaten and tied up by agents of the police and army . 

14. As of 12 March to 29 June 2016, SOS- Torture / BURUNDI identified 1063 cases of torture in the light of mass arrests in which the victims were subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in more cases of torture inflicted on the victims individually or in small groups during the arrests . 

15. In addition to bad inhuman treatment during arrest , SOS- Torture / BURUNDI observed since May , mass arrests in neighborhoods that have demonstrated against the third term of Pierre Nkurunziza. Hundreds of people were repeatedly brutally driven from their homes , humiliated and kept outside under a blazing sun on the pretext to carry out verification of infiltration potential combatants within the population. After several hours of waiting , a lot of people were released , sometimes after paying police bribes . Some people were held without theirs after only know by their fate. 

16. Other forms of violations of human rights features of the crisis in Burundi for a year are forced disappearance and extrajudicial executions phenomena . 

17. During the period from 12 March to 29 June 2016 , 10cas disappearances were recorded by the SOS- Torture / BURUNDI campaign. These are in addition to 16 cases reported in the previous report (4 cases of unidentified persons ) , making a total of 26 victims during the first half of 2016 . 

18. Until the publication of this report , missing persons , from December 2015 to March 2016 have not yet been recovered and obviously the police and justice are unable to shed light on the extent this phenomenon. 

19. With regard to extrajudicial executions , the campaign SOS- Torture / BURUNDI noted 18 cases of extrajudicial executions during the period of 12 March to 29 June , bringing the death toll to 214 people since December 2015 for between 11 December 2015 and March 11, 2016 , SOS- Torture / BURUNDI had identified 196 victims ( including 167 unidentified and 29 identified ) . 

20. In conclusion, the table on the situation of human rights in Burundi remains dark , a year after the outbreak of the protest movement of the third term of President Pierre Nkurunziza . 

21. The number of victims continues to grow in all population groups , including administrators and members of the ruling CNDD-FDD, without the perpetrators are apprehended and punished by the authorized services. 

22. The bodies of police and justice hardly manage to curb the worrying phenomenon of targeted killings, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in which state agents are involved as perpetrators or accomplices. 

23. Furthermore, it attends to the involvement of militias Imbonerakure in policing services and security, a phenomenon that threatens the stability of the National Defence Forces (FDN) and peace in the country especially as some military and police impunity are the subject of targeted killings or forced disappearances.

24. The frequent arbitrary arrests in the neighborhoods of Bujumbura and Bururi province specifically illustrate a climate of permanent tension between the police and the population of the localities concerned. 

25. This climate of insecurity and continued violation of human rights contributes to further isolation of Burundi in the concert of Nations with all the already devastating impact on the socio-economic and political terms. 

26. This context calls first the Head of State and his close collaborators of the government on their responsibilities and their obligation to protect the population in compliance with national, regional and international commitments which bind the Burundi in protecting human rights and promoting the principles of good governance.

 27. The obligation to contribute to the restoration of peace also comes to the entire political class, the Government and the political opposition, which should favor the frank and inclusive dialogue in the interest of all Burundians. 

28. For these reasons, the campaign SOS-Torture / BURUNDI recommends: 

Arbitrary Arrests , Abductions And Enforced Disappearances Continue

In this SOS-Torture report of August 6 to 13, 2016 , we remember that arbitrary arrests have continued in some areas in the form of raids conducted by the police almost daily in targeted areas of the city of Bujumbura.These neighborhoods , particularly Musaga , are considered by the protesters to the third term of the President of the Republic. The report also mentions the grisly discovery of three bodies in the rivers. We previously reported the existence of a body floating on the river Mubarazi. In this report it, it is a second headless body found near the first and a third victim found in the river Ruvyironza in Gitega . None of the victims has yet been identified. Journalist Jean Bigirimana of press group Iwacu is still missing more than three weeks after his abduction by individuals identified as agents of the national intelligence service. After the attack against a journalist Burundians in exile in Uganda , the report suggests this time the attack with a machete against a defender of human rights also in exile in Uganda. He is wounded but alive, but this attack calls into question the safety of defenders in exile.

Prison conditions and especially the failure of prisoners’ rights such as access to health care has become a problem among prison authorities recently.The report of another detainee died in a Bujumbura jail for not having received authorization to receive appropriate treatment and became the third inmate who died in less than two months by negligence.

The report comes on the release of four other students in Cankuzo held several weeks to scrawl the picture of the President of Burundi in textbooks. The report will conclude with a comment on the concluding observations of the Committee against public turtle made ​​this Friday, 08/12/2016 .

1.     Arbitrary arrests , abductions and enforced disappearances continue

• Police conducted simultaneous raids in neighborhoods Musaga , Cibitoke and Nyakabiga ( Bujumbura ) August 6, 2016. Dozens of people were again gathered for identity checks . Police use such massive roundups particularly in districts known protest of the 3rd term of the President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza , citing officially be looking for hidden weapons and fighters.Those arrested were identified for hours before being released . This is a form of harassment and continuous persecution that targets only certain neighborhoods . Musaga The area is particularly affected by these raids that households suffer on average twice a week . Claudine Umutesi, arrested by the SNR since August 5

• A young mother named Claudine Umutesi was arrested dated August 5, 2016 by agents of the National Intelligence Service . The operation was conducted Mutakura ( north of Bujumbura ) at his home before it is fed into the dungeons of the SNR . Relatives are concerned for his safety especially as the woman is of Rwandan origin. Burundian political authorities are very violent towards neighboring Rwanda , raising fears of reprisals against nationals of the neighboring country. Egide Bazikamwe , arrested and exfiltration of the cell by the Commissioner of Karuzi

• A man named Egide Bazikamwe was arrested by police in the capital of the Karuzi province ( eastern DRC ) on 5 August 2016. He is a resident moved the site in Kigoma town Buhiga . Witnesses report he is the victim of participating in peaceful protests against the third term of President Nkurunziza of Burundi in April and May 2015 Musaga area ( south of Bujumbura). He was held in Karuzi police cell. As of August 11, 2016 , Egide Bazikamwe was exfiltrated from his cell by the Commissioner of Karuzi province police officer OPP1 Ndayiragije Ladislas , who took him to an unknown destination .

• Three young men were arrested in the area Murago , common Burambi , Rumonge province ( south) on 7 August 2016. The operation was conducted by Imbonerakure and police , while members of the ruling party are not empowered to conduct arrests. Young men are arrested Donatien Hatangimana Leopold Ndayongeje and Bigirimana . Witnesses said they were arrested in a household while attending a party, without cause and without a warrant. Their place of detention is unknown and families are worried about their safety because they have no news of these young people since their arrest.

• Again , the police conducted raids in targeted areas of the city of Bujumbura on 8 August 2016. The people of Mutakura and Musaga areas were covered by these raids , as well as the center of the capital. Over two hundred people were thus arrested by the police. Some of the victims of these raids are worried about the threatening police during these repetitive operations , who vowed that residents will never Musaga particularly quiet .The security agents and hiding more harassment they impose on these people , stating want revenge protests against the third term in April and May 2015 .

• Riot Brigade conducted raids in the center of Bujumbura on August 12 , 2016. Dozens of young men were gathered , passers-by and street vendors alike. Those arrested by police were searched before being placed in a column to head the sales area of the BRARUDI located near the bus park . Witnesses indicate that officers of BAE have required young men to kneel on the ground and girls sitting on the ground under a blazing sun. This is a degrading treatment that has nothing to do with the control of the police work . A portion of those arrested were subsequently shipped to the dungeons . Mr. Niyonkuru , tortured by Imbonerakure to Shombo

2.Assassinations , summary executions and armed attacks listed

Imbonerakure , the youth league of the ruling CNDD-FDD, continue to commit abuses with impunity. On the evening of August 6, 2016 , they arrested and tortured a demobilized soldier in the town Shombo , Muramvya province ( center of the country ). The victim is called Emmanuel Niyonkuru and was evacuated dying to Muramvya hospital ; he is also an activist of the opposition party MSD . This is not the first time that young Imbonerakure cited in torture and illegal arrests. They never bothered by the police or prosecution and enjoy total impunity. In many communities, they are substituted for the law enforcement conducting night patrols with weapons in the full knowledge of local authorities.

– A defender of human rights of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH ) was attacked on the evening of August 8, 2016 in Kampala, Uganda , where he lives in exile in Nakivale camp. The victim is Leon Ntakiyiruta , observer APRODH in Makamba province ( southern Burundi ) and cell responsible for Justice and Human Rights of the Forum for Awareness and Development ( FOCODE ) , attacked with machetes by two men a few meters from the same refugee camp. victim of colleagues indicate that Imbonerakure affiliated youth party CNDD-FDD to have infiltrated in recent months Burundian refugee camps to identify and attack the people opposed to the third term of President.

Mr. Ntakiyiruta victim would have just investigated the presence of these young people in refugee camps. He was wounded in the arm and head and evacuated for treatment in hospital.  Mr. Niyonkuru , tortured by Imbonerakure to Shombo – After the discovery of a decomposed body in the river on the Mubarazi Nyabisiga hill area Bugarama commune Muramvya(center of the country) dated August 5, 2016 , a second body was discovered in the same river in August 9, 2016, in the locality of Bihogo Nyabisiga on the hill. This discovery was made while civil protection police officers had gone to the place where was discovered the previous decomposing body , with the aim of rescuing and try to identify (see report SOS torture No. 34) .

After the operation, the fact is that the second victim was decapitated , making it very difficult for the time identification. The two bodies were weighted down with large stones before being thrown into the river by their killers . These findings are very disturbing and suggest extrajudicial killings whose victims could be many more .The first body found in the river Mubarazi Civil Protection police after the salvage operation of the two bodies of Mubarazi  Journalist Jean Bigirimana , missing since July 22, 2016 The area of ​​the macabre discovery is also one in which was seen for the last time journalist Jean Bigirimana the Press Group Iwacu , arrested by agents of the National Intelligence Service in Bugarama July 22, 2016 and taken to Muramvya(center of the country) according to several witnesses . Until then , the SNR and the police deny having arrested M.Bigirimana . More than three weeks after his enforced disappearance , colleagues of the journalist and his family fear he was executed . The discovery of the bodies in the river Mubarazi emphasizes that fear. Police announced Friday, August 12, 2016 none of the two recovered victims is Jean Bigirimana.

The decomposing body found in the river Ruvyironza – The decomposing body of another man was found dated August 9, 2016 in Ruvyironza river town Giheta , Gitega province ( central Somalia ) between the hills and Gihehe Korane . Witnesses report that the victim was murdered arms tied behind his back, but the identification was not conducted by the police. This man was buried by local authorities . This brings to three the number of victims murdered and thrown into rivers in the space of a week. – A man was shot dead in the town Rugombo , Cibitoke province ( west) on August 11 , 2016. The victim is a motorcycle transporter named Léonce Ngendakumana .

3. A prisoner dies in prison in Bujumbura

An inmate named Zuberi Benga died in the same speakers in Bujumbura central prison called Mpimba dated 7 August 2016. He had been unjustly arrested in Rumonge July 29, 2016 with nine other people in the place of his brother, a former MP Saleh appointed Cimanimpaye , wanted by the police (see report SOS-Torture No. 33) . Witnesses say he was ill and asked permission to leave for care , permission that was denied by the prison . In recent weeks , detainees die in similar circumstances following the refusal of the prison authorities to let them seek treatment outside the prison to receive appropriate treatment (see reports SOS-Torture No. 33 and 34 ) .

Mr. Zuberi Benga , died for lack of care Prison Besides the fact that the negligence of the prison authorities can not be justified , it should be noted that prison overcrowding in Burundi, particularly accentuated since the beginning of the crisis worsened conditions already precarious where detainees were. At the end of June 2016, the prison population was 8,831 inmates including over half ( 5.091 ) in custody (see SOS-Torture report Burundi No. 29).

4. Students detainees released to scrawl

Four high school students Cankuzo ( East of the country ) who were arrested for scribbling the picture of the President of Burundi in textbooks were released on 10 August 2016 the Ruyigi prison . This is a bail granted to these young students , which however did not finish their school year as their peers Students arrested since the beginning of June for this case scribbles were released , only two students remain in detention in Muramvya : Perfect Iradukunda and Alexis Mugerowimana , accused by the participation in an insurrectionary movement Parquet related to event organization during the arrest for doodling 5 High School students Muramvya . The SOS-Torture Campaign Burundi calls for their release. 

5. Concluding Observations of the Committee against Torture concerning the special report of Burundi on Friday the 08/12/2016 

After the exceptional review of Burundi on 28 and 29 July 2016 the Committee Against Torture has released its concluding observations this Friday, 08/12/2016 , observations that are after the Government of Burundi had refused to participate in the second dialogue session and is thus deprived of the opportunity to bring his answers directly from members of the committee , which did not prevent the committee , despite non-cooperation in maintaining the procedure and exit its concluding observations. 

In these concluding observations, the Committee against Torture denounced the forced disappearances of political opponents , citing the figure of 36 cases between April 2015 and April 2016 , sexual violence by the security forces and young Imbonerakure ( militia ) , as well as a genocidal rhetoric aimed at the Tutsi minority. 

The Committee strongly urges the State party ( Burundi ) to protect members of civil society who cooperated with the Committee against Torture. Here the Committee against Torture reversed its deep concern about the serious allegations received concerning reprisals against members of the Burundian civil society who have contributed and cooperate with the Committee at the 58th session in the context the Special Review of Burundi. The Committee is awaiting the comments of lawyers Armel Niyongere , Nigarura Lambert Dieudonné Bashirahishize and Vital Nshimirimana victims of retaliation to determine these allegations and that on basis of the party in question and any information to clarify this case including from the UN institutions that have been copied various correspondence relating thereto.  The Committee calls on Burundi to submit between now and October 12, 2016 a special monitoring report on all steps taken to implement all the recommendations contained in the report