This archive report was first published on 24 October 2019.
On October 22, 2019, Burundian police detained four journalists and a driver in Bubanza province, a region in the northwestern part of the country.
The journalists, Agnes Ndirubusa, Christine Kamikazi, Egide Harerimana, and Terence Mpozenzi, were working for the local newspaper Iwacu and were accompanied by their driver, Adolphe Masabarakiza.
According to Leandre Sikuyavuga, the director of Iwacu, the journalists were detained at midday while trying to gather witness statements from residents fleeing the fighting in the area.
Police spokesman Moise Nkurunziza stated that the journalists' case was being handled by the police and that they would be released if found not guilty or taken to court if found guilty.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) demanded the journalists' immediate release, citing concerns about the crackdown on the media in Burundi.
A Burundian journalist, who wished to remain anonymous, alleged that the objective of the detention was to prevent the presence of the media in the area, and that it was successful in achieving this goal.
Iwacu has previously reported on cases of extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests during attacks in the area, and has been one of the last independent publications in the country.
RSF recently warned that there was a risk of all forms of independent journalism disappearing in Burundi less than a year before the presidential election on May 20, 2020.
