Family fears Burundi journalist arrested last week is dead

KIGALI, Rwanda – The family of a Burundian journalist who was arrested last week, reportedly by the country’s National Intelligence Service, said Wednesday it now fears he is dead.

Jean Bigirimana of the independent newspaper Iwacu was arrested in Muramvya province, his wife, Godeberte Hakizimana, told The Associated Press.

She said the family has checked almost all of the jails in the province for him. Police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said Bigirimana was not in their custody.

Human Rights Watch has documented a pattern of disappearances in Burundi in which people are taken away, often by members of the intelligence services, and not seen again for weeks or months.

The East African country has been in turmoil following President Pierre Nkurunziza’s re-election last year. Protesters disputed his right to stay on for a third term. Hundreds of people have died, and rights groups have accused the government of violence against opposition members and protesters.

Bigirimana was arrested on his return from neighbouring Rwanda, where he had gone to attend a journalism training course.

Also attending the course was the Iwacu newspaper’s director, Antoine Kaburahe, who Burundi’s government wants to be extradited from Belgium over charges he played a role in a failed coup attempt last year.