Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) – The tribunal of first instance in Bujumbura rejected the request for the conditional release of the chairman of the Association for Human Rights and Detainees (APRODH), Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, his lawyers said.
Mr Mbonimpa, 60, who is suffering from chronic diabetes, has been in preventive detention for nearly two months for “breaching state internal and external security”.
A recent presidential pardon decree approved the release of detainees over 60 years old, but on condition that they are not indicted for “breaching state security”.
Mr. Mbonimpa has been detained for claiming that young Burundians affiliated to the ruling party were undergoing paramilitary training in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo for unspecified reasons.
The allegations had been judged as serious by the country’s authorities who said they could breach the good diplomatic ties between the two countries.
