During the launch of the “10 days to sign” campaign, Amnesty International this year highlights the case of Germain Rukuki, a human rights activist in Burundi who was arrested in July 2017.
Every year, the NGO’s defense of human rights demands support through a message, letter or tweet, such as the rights of ten people in the world. This year, Amnesty International is looking back at the case of Germain Rukuki, a human rights activist in Burundi, in prison for three years. He is serving a 32-year prison sentence after being convicted of “rebellion”, “endangering state security”, “participating in a rebellious movement” and “undermining the state’s authority”.
Germain Rukuki worked for a human rights organization called ACAT-Burundi, a Christian association against torture. ACAT opposed President Kurunziza’s third term. So it seems that the government wanted to show that this way of criticizing the government and defending human rights was not acceptable. […] He is therefore in prison. He was convicted of injustice, unfounded charges. Obviously, we at Amnesty International demand that he be released immediately and unconditionally.
Rachel Nicholson, Researcher at Amnesty International
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