Case History: Pierre Claver Mbonimpa

On 9 October 2015 unidentified armed persons with rifles and grenades killed Pascal Nshimirimana, the son-in-law of prominent human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa.

Mr Nshimirimana was married to Mbonimpa's daughter, Zigène Mbonimpa. The incident occurred just two months after the human rights defender himself escaped an assassination attempt in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi.

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa's work has been recognised internationally through the award of a number of prizes, including the 2007 Martin Ennals Award and the 2011 Henry Dunant Award. His daughter Zigène Mbonimpa is also a staff member of APRODH.

On 9 October 2015, at approximately midday, Pascal Nshimirimana was targeted by unidentified armed persons while his car slowed down near the gate of his house, located at Ngagara neighborhood, in Bujumbura. The assailants shot him and threw grenades before fleeing the scene, and he died immediately.

Since the attempted assassination of Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, several members of his family have been subjected to threats and surveillance. A few days after Mr Mbonimpa was transferred to Europe for medical treatment, his daughters Zigène and Amandine Mbonimpa were trailed by unidentified people. Also, on 20 August 2015, a police officer holding a gun was seen near Zigène Mbonimpa's house acting suspiciously, going back and forth near the gate for no apparent reason. Zigène and Amandine Mbonimpa have reportedly received threatening phone calls before this most recent incident.

Since last August, Bujumbura has experienced a resurgence of armed violence marked by targeted attacks especially in deprived areas called “contestataires” ("dissenters", where the campaign against the third term of President Nkurunziza was widely supported). The son-in-law of Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was a businessman, and did not belong to any human rights group or political movement. In light of the threats against his family, it is believed that the assassination may be linked to Pierre Claver Mbonimpa and APRODH's human rights work.

Following a targeted shooting attack in Bujumbura, Burundian human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is in intensive care at a local hospital, according to relatives.

According to reports, several gunmen on motorbikes fired at Mbonimpa as he was returning to his home from work in the capital.

"Some men on motorcycle were following his car. At one point, they overtook him and they shot at him," one relative told AFP.

According to AFP, a "diplomatic source in Bujumbura said the activist had been hit in the jaw, while a second bullet grazed his neck."

Mbonimpa is one of the last few active members of civil society remaining in Burundi following weeks of unrest.

Burundi has endured severe chaos since President Nkurunziza announced his decision in April to seek a third term in office, which domestic political opponents and members of the international community said violated the constitution and a peace deal that ended an ethnically charged civil war in 2005. Despite the severe risks associated with dissent in Burundi, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa openly opposed President Nkurunziza's candidacy.

Last week Nkurunziza was declared the outright winner of elections despite opposition protests and international condemnation. Many members of Burundi's civil society who opposed Nkurunziza's reelection have fled the country, but Mbonimpa remained.

For many years, Mbonimpa has suffered threats, persecution, and violence as a result of his legitimate work in defense of human rights. As recently as April, the human rights defender was detained by the security forces for 24 hours. He was released from pre-trial detention in September 2014 due to ill health.

Front Line Defenders Executive Director, Mary Lawlor, said of the attack:

"First they detained him, then they locked him up and now they've shot him - all because he is a tireless human rights defender. Responsibility for his safety now lies squarely with President Nkurunziza."

On 15 September 2014, the High Court of Bujumbura rejected a request by the defense lawyers of human rights defender Mr Pierre Claver Mbonimpa for his provisional release due to serious illness.

The court ordered the establishment of a medical commission to assess the health of the human rights defender.

The request was discussed in court by the lawyers of Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, who is detained since mid-May, on 11 September 2014.

The hearing took place on September 11 in the absence of the human rights defender who faces serious health problems and is hospitalised since 29 August 2014. His lawyers informed the court that his poor health did not allow him to be present at the hearing.

Based on a medical certificate issued by the hospital, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa's lawyers argued that the continued imprisonment could have irreparable consequences for his health, and thus asked the court to order his provisional release. In particular, the lawyers noted that Mbonimpa, now aged 66, suffers from "multiple chronic conditions”, which are all at an “advanced stage". They argued that given his pathologies he cannot remain in prison especially considering that the human rights defender was alive only because the prison authorities transferred him urgently to the hospital, in a state that borders a coma.

According to the testimony of several colleagues in civil society who have visited him in hospital on 5 September, the health of Mbonimpa is worrying and has worsened since his incarceration. He is weak and has lost weight and in prison he would not be able to have special dietary needs required by his pathologies to be met.

The prosecutor objected to the request, suggesting that the hearing be postponed to a later date to allow the accused to present himself before the judges. He also indicated that the previous requests introduced by his lawyers to obtain the release had been rejected, and that it was time to discuss the merits of the case. Finally, while acknowledging the medical certificate issued by the hospital, the prosecutor requested that the court appoints a medical commission to decide on the matter.

Lawyers expressed outrage at this, given that the procedure for setting up such commissions can be lengthy as they are part of the Department of Health. When in place, their reports are rarely produced in a reasonable time. According Mbonimpa's lawyers, such a commission would be necessary only if the validity of medical certificate issued by the doctor had been challenged, which had not been the case.

After discussions that lasted approximately 40 minutes, the judges announced that they would decide on 15 September 2014.

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was arrested on 15 May 2014 around midnight when he was at the airport in Bujumbura. The arrest followed several summonses to appear before the judicial police in connection with a radio-broadcast debate during which he had claimed to have evidence of the existence of training camps for young Burundians in eastern DRC. On 20 May 2014, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa appeared before the prosecutor, who questioned him about his statements. On 23 May, the human rights defender appeared before the Chamber of the High Court of Bujumbura which ruled for his remand. During various hearings on different dates in May, June and July, lawyers of human rights defender tried to get his bail without success.