Judges from the appeal court of Bujumbura are hearing the case in the council chamber in the central prison of Ngozi, northern Burundi.
The 15 soldiers and eight police officers arrested on September 14 are currently serving in the security forces but had also been members of the former Armed Forces of Burundi (ex-FAB), which was dominated by members of the Tutsi minority before the integration of the fighters of the majority Hutu rebel groups.
“Harming the internal security of the state, participation in armed groups and illegal possession of firearms; this is what they are prosecuted for,” said national police spokesperson Pierre Nkurikiye as the group appeared in court on Thursday.
One of their lawyers told the African News Agency (ANA) that the case had been postponed to next week.
“Our clients could not be heard because we had not yet had enough time to meet them and consult their files,” he pointed out.
The officers were arrested on the same day as Adjutant Eddy Claude Nyongera, who died a few hours after his arrest. The police said he had killed himself during interrogation in the offices of the intelligence agency.
But opponents of the government said they believed he had been murdered.
The Forum for Awareness and Development, FOCODE, one of the civil society organisations opposed to the third term of President Pierre Nkurunziza, condemned “a plan of the regime to destroy the army’s cohesion by eliminating those from the former regime”.
Pacifique Nininahazwe, leader of FOCODE in exile, said he was deeply concerned by the passiveness of the United Nations in the light of the killing of innocent people in the country.
“There is an immediate necessity for the United Nations and the international community to take necessary action to protect Burundians,” he said.
The report issued by UN Experts on Burundi last week accused Burundian authorities of violating the opposition’s right to freedom of expression.
But the Burundi government rejected the report, saying it was full of lies and politically motivated.
However, one of the few remaining opposition leaders in the country was arrested on Monday.
The president of the Forum for Equity, Development and Democracy, Gervais Niyongabo, was apprehended by intelligence agents in Makamba province, southern Burundi.
--ANA--
