Burundian journalist freed

2010-08-13 11:13

Bujumbura - Burundian authorities freed the director of a weekly publication arrested this week on defamation charges, the journalist said on Friday.

Thierry Ndayishimiye, the director of the Arc-en-ciel weekly, was released on Thursday, two days after he was detained over an article in which he accused the director of the national water and electricity firm of trying to cover up embezzlement of $110 000.

"Yesterday (Thursday) I was called to go see my wife and children who came to visit me when all of a sudden a police officer told me to leave immediately and showed me an order for my temporary release," Ndayishimiye said.

"I did not ask questions. I wanted to leave that horrible prison even though I was released the way I was arrested - without any explanation," he added.

Another journalist, Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, was arrested last month and charged with treason for suggesting that Burundi security forces would not deter an attack by Somalia's Islamist Shabaab rebels.

The Shabaab claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital on July 11, saying it was in retaliation for Uganda's troop presence in Somalia.

Uganda and Burundi are currently the only African countries to have deployed troops for the African Union force in Somalia.

Media rights watchdogs have voiced concern at what they say is a "campaign of intimidation against the media by the Burundi government."

- AFP