Quashing of Tony Germain Nkina’s sentence by the Supreme Court
On 8 December 2022, the Burundian Supreme Court quashed the five year conviction of the human rights defender and lawyer Tony Germain Nkina, which was previously confirmed on 29 September 2021 by the Ngozi Appeal Court. The human rights defender has been detained at the Ngozi central prison since 13 October 2020. The new appeal trial must take place without delay, as per the Supreme Court’s recommendation.
On 29 September the Court of Appeal of Ngozi ruled to uphold the five year conviction of human rights defender and lawyer Tony Germain Nkina. The human rights defender is currently detained at the central prison of Ngozi (Prison Central de Ngozi). He has been charged with “collaboration with armed groups”. The human rights defenders lawyer plans to request the Supreme Court to review and reverse the decision.
Tony Nkina is a well known human rights lawyer in Kayanza province who provides legal assistance to detained persons and victims of human rights abuses. He is the former representative of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (Association pour la protection des droits humains et des personnes détenues, APRODH), a leading human rights group in Burundi until 2015. APRODH worked to protect human rights in general and the rights of detained persons in particular and provided legal and psychological assistance to detained persons and victims of abuse as well as worked to raise public awareness on the prevention of all forms of abuse of humans and persons in pre-trial detention. In 2015 the government suspended the organization as part of a crackdown on independent civil society.
On 8 December 2022, the Burundian Supreme Court quashed the five year conviction of the human rights defender and lawyer Tony Germain Nkina, which was previously confirmed on 29 September 2021 by the Ngozi Appeal Court. The human rights defender has been detained at the Ngozi central prison since 13 October 2020. The new appeal trial must take place without delay, as per the Supreme Court’s recommendation.
Tony Germain Nkina is a well known human rights lawyer in Kayanza province, who provides legal assistance to detained persons and victims of human rights abuses. He is the former representative of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (Association pour la protection des droits humains et des personnes détenues - APRODH), a leading human rights group in Burundi until 2015. APRODH worked to protect human rights in general, and the rights of detained persons in particular, and provided legal and psychological assistance to detained persons and victims of abuse as well as worked to raise public awareness on the prevention of all forms of abuse of humans and persons in pre-trial detention. In 2015, the government suspended the organization as part of a crackdown on independent civil society.
On 13 October 2020, Tony Germain Nkina was arrested without a warrant in Kabarore, where he was visiting a client for his professional work as a lawyer. In June 2021, a court in Kayanza found Tony Germain Nkina guilty of collaboration with armed groups – a common accusation against perceived opponents and critics of the government in Burundi – and sentenced him to five years in prison. On 16 July 2021, the human rights defender’s lawyer filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal of Ngozi. His lawyer reported that Tony Germain Nkina was questioned regarding APRODH. The human rights defender was found guilty of complicity with armed groups and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of one million Burundian francs (approximately 460 Euro).
On 29 September 2021, the Court of Appeal of Ngozi upheld the five year conviction. In late November 2021, Tony Germain Nkina appealed his case to the Supreme Court as judicial last resort. On 20 July 2022, the prosecutor general’s office responded to his appeal by repeating the same allegations against the human rights defender, namely that he was working for his former boss at the human rights organisation APRODH, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, who allegedly collaborated with the opposition group RED-Tabara, and that he had gone to Rwanda in 2019 to prepare attacks attributed to this group in 2020.
On 7 October 2022, the human rights defenders’ case was heard by the Supreme Court in Bujumbura. On 8 December 2022, after the 60 days delay following the Supreme Court hearing, the Burundian Supreme Court quashed the five year conviction upheld by the Ngozi Appeal court. The case will therefore be retried on appeal with new judges. The new appeal trial must take place without delay, as per the Supreme Court’s recommendation.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the decision of the Burundian Supreme Court but is still concerned by the detention of human rights defender and lawyer Tony Germain Nkina. The organisation would like to emphasise that, the human rights defender should not have been arrested in first place for his peaceful and legitimate human r ights work, and calls for the immediate release of Tony Germain Nkina. Front Line Defenders also urges the authorities in Burundi to ensure that the human rights defender’s appeal hearing meets the international standards to the right to a fair trial.
On 29 September the Court of Appeal of Ngozi ruled to uphold the five year conviction of human rights defender and lawyer Tony Germain Nkina. The human rights defender is currently detained at the central prison of Ngozi (Prison Central de Ngozi). He has been charged with “collaboration with armed groups”. The human rights defenders lawyer plans to request the Supreme Court to review and reverse the decision.
Tony Nkina is a well known human rights lawyer in Kayanza province who provides legal assistance to detained persons and victims of human rights abuses. He is the former representative of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (Association pour la protection des droits humains et des personnes détenues, APRODH), a leading human rights group in Burundi until 2015. APRODH worked to protect human rights in general and the rights of detained persons in particular and provided legal and psychological assistance to detained persons and victims of abuse as well as worked to raise public awareness on the prevention of all forms of abuse of humans and persons in pre-trial detention. In 2015 the government suspended the organization as part of a crackdown on independent civil society.
On 29 September 2021 the Court of Appeal of Ngozi ruled to uphold the five year conviction of human rights defender and lawyer Tony Nkina. In June 2021, a court in Kayanza found Tony Nkina guilty of collaboration with armed groups – a common accusation against perceived opponents and critics in Burundi – and sentenced him to five years in prison. During the interrogation phase, Tony Nkina reports being questioned by the prosecutor regarding his affiliation with APRODH. The prosecutor also raised the human rights defender’s relation to the NGO during the hearings, and accused Tony Nkina of secretly meeting with the former head of APRODH. On 29 September 2021, Tony Nkina’s client, whom he had been advising on a land dispute, was also found guilty of complicity in the same offence and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. The Court of Appeal also confirmed the conviction and sentence of the client. The human rights defender remains in the central prison of Ngozi and his lawyer will be requesting the Supreme Court to review the case and reverse the decision.
On 13 October 2020, Tony Nkina was arrested without a warrant in Kabarore where he was visiting a client in his capacity as a professional lawyer. The human rights defender was still using his APRODH motorbike when he was arrested and the vehicle was seized during the arrest. On 3 August 2015, the head of APRODH Pierre Claver Mbonimpa was the victim of an attempted assassination. Several gunmen on motorbikes fired at the human rights defender as he was returning to his home from work in the capital. Tony Nkina had been keeping a low profile since. In February 2021, Tony received information from allies that he was under surveillance by the National Intelligence Service.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned with the conviction and judicial harassment of the human rights defender Tony Nkina and believes he is being targeted solely as a result of his past peaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights in Burundi.
