ACAT-Burundi has issued a statement regarding the detainee release measures initiated by the Burundian authorities since the end of 2025. ACAT-Burundi welcomes this initiative, which has enabled several hundred people to regain their freedom and represents a step forward in reducing prison overcrowding and promoting a more humane justice system.
However, ACAT-Burundi expresses serious concern about the partial and opaque nature of the process. The failure to publish the official criteria and the legal framework guiding the release decisions raises doubts about the fairness of the measure.
Several categories of detainees have not benefited from the releases, including individuals who have fully served their sentences, those who have been definitively acquitted, as well as vulnerable detainees suffering from chronic illnesses, mental health conditions, or living with disabilities.
The continued detention of persons who have completed their sentences or who have been acquitted constitutes a serious violation of the principle of legality and the right to liberty, and runs counter to Burundi’s national and international human rights obligations.
ACAT-Burundi calls on the authorities to ensure the fair and transparent implementation of the release measures, to immediately end all arbitrary detention, and to give particular attention to vulnerable detainees. The organization reiterates that justice must apply equally to all, without distinction.
ACAT-Burundi Calls for Fair and Transparent Detainee Releases
