Burundi court cuts journalist jail term
2013-01-08 13:36
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Gitega - A Burundian appeal court on Tuesday cut the life
sentence of journalist Hassan Ruvakuki to three years, judges said, reducing
the charges from terrorism to membership of a gang.
Appeal court judge Fulgence Ruberintwari said the reporter
was guilty of "participating in an association formed for the purpose of
attacking people and property" and would serve three years in jail.
Ruvakuki, who worked for French radio station RFI's Swahili
service and local broadcaster Bonesha FM, was handed a life sentence last June,
a ruling condemned by press rights groups.
He was initially convicted of planning an attack by an armed
group on the eastern Cankuzo province of neighbouring Tanzania that left dozens
dead and spreading news of it afterwards.
Ruvakuki, who was not present in court, has always protested
his innocence.
Ruvakuki, whose trial has been closely followed by
Bujumbura-based Western diplomats, acknowledged that he travelled to Tanzania
to cover the birth of a new rebellion but said he was merely doing his job as a
journalist.
His defence lawyers at the appeal hearing in Gitega, central
Burundi, worked to discredit the prosecution's evidence, repeatedly denouncing
what they said were procedural violations that have plagued the case.
Since general elections in 2010 that were boycotted by the
opposition, Burundi has been rocked by violence that has led observers to fear
that the central African country could be sliding back into conflict.
Burundi's civil claimed nearly 300 000 lives from 1993 to
2006.
