Burundi: New UN condemnation for acts of torture

The CAT established that for a month, state agents tortured, deprived of care and kept Epitace Nshimirimana in unsanitary conditions of detention. He was repeatedly beaten with concrete irons and truncheons, hit with boots, sticks and gun barrels, and stabbed in the toes.

Almost 10 years after the events, the Committee's landmark decision recognises that the Burundian intelligence services intentionally torture political opponents to punish and intimidate them. It also notes that the Burundian justice system does not investigate to find the culprits and punish them, even when the victims appear before the judges with visible signs of torture.

Since the 2015 crisis, the Burundian state has still not taken all the effective legislative, administrative, and judicial measures to prevent all acts of torture and ill-treatment, particularly in the intelligence services. Since Evariste Ndayishimiye came to power in June 2020, torture, and violations of the right to life have continued, mainly in the form of extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances. The recurrent discovery of corpses in various places, hastily buried without prior investigation, bears witness to the authorities' presumed complicity with the criminals.

For Epitace Nshimirimana, the Committee's decision represents a victory for recognising his status as a victim and his right to obtain reparation. This decision also validates the work of Mr Armel Niyongere, supported by the lawyers of the judicial intervention group of the SOS-Torture network in Africa, who for five years have been working together to ensure that the continent's states recognise their responsibility under the Convention against Torture and fight against impunity for acts of torture and ill-treatment.

For more information, please contact: Francesca Pezzola, Director of Communications at OMCT, fpe@omct.org