Photo credit: Google/Protection International
Germain Rukuki's right to a swift and fair appeal against his prison sentence must be upheld, says a coalition of 43 NGOs in a joint letter to Burundi authorities.
We, the undersigned organisations, express our dismay that the Burundian Appeals Court of Ntahangwa has not yet announced a verdict in the case of human rights defender Germain Rukuki. According to legal statutes, this verdict was due within 30 days of the appeal hearing, by 24 April 2021. This undue delay adds to the litany of irregularities that have characterised the legal proceedings in this case since the arrest of Rukuki in 2017, and further compounds the violation of his right to a fair trial and due process.
On 30 June 2020, the Supreme Court of Burundi set aside the ruling by the Appeals Court to uphold the 32-year sentence in Rukuki’s case and ordered a second appeal hearing, citing violations to his right to a fair trial. This second appeal hearing took place 8 months later on 24 March 2021 in Ngozi prison, where he is currently detained. According to the Burundian Code of Criminal Procedure, following the hearing the Court has 30 days to return a verdict on the case, but this verdict is still pending nearly 60 days later. This delay clearly demonstrates a lack of due process in the case of the internationally recognised human rights defender and a political prisoner.
Germain Rukuki is a Burundian human rights defender and father of three. At the time of his arrest, he was working for the Association of Catholic Jurists of Burundi (AJCB ), having previously worked for Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-Burundi). ACAT-Burundi was suspended by the government in November 2015, as part of a major clampdown on civil society organisations, including four other human rights groups that also opposed then President Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term. Rukuki was also a co-founder of Njabutsa Tujane, a community-based association advocating against poverty and famine, and for improved access to health. In July 2017 he was arrested without a warrant and held by the National Intelligence Service (SNR) before being transferred to Ngozi Prison where he has been held ever since. His previous employment at ACAT-Burundi formed the basis of the charges against him and although no conclusive evidence was ever presented, he was sentenced to 32 years in prison on charges including rebellion and breach of state security.
The violations to Germain Rukuki’s right to a fair trial and due process have been recognised and condemned internationally, including in a letter to President Évariste Ndayishimiye from five UN Special Procedures in September 2020:
“Numerous irregularities and procedural flaws were recorded during the proceedings, which were held behind closed doors, in particular concerning the new offences retained, which were not investigated. Furthermore, it is reported that virtually no evidence was presented by the public prosecutor…”
In addition, Mr. Rukuki’s detention violates the principles and guidelines on the right to a fair trial and legal assistance as laid out in both the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Burundi has been a party to since 1990.
Germain Rukuki has now spent nearly 4 years in prison. He has already waited an additional 30 days for this final verdict to be announced without any legal reason; he should not have to wait any longer. We call on the Burundian Government to demonstrate their commitment to respect the independence of the Judiciary. We further call on the Burundian Appeals Court to comply fully with the fair trial obligations of Burundi under international law, announcing the verdict in this case immediately.
Signed
Stolen Presidential elections, the use of deeply repressive tactics by State agents against real and perceived opponents, and the recent return of OHCHR to Caracas informed today’s dialogue on Venezuela between the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Council.
At the review of Burkina Faso’s periodic report to the African Commission, ISHR noted a worrying trend of arrests, conscription, and abductions of human rights defenders, some of whom are deployed to the battlefield.
At a side event on the relevance of the African human rights system to the conflict in Gaza, panellists urged States and the Commission to ensure Israel ends its unlawful occupation and respect international human rights norms.
