Former MP Fabien Banciryanino, imprisoned since October 8, 2020 for rebellion, slanderous denunciation and attack on the internal and external security of the State, has been since Sunday March 28 in solitary confinement in a cramped dungeon called "correction ''. It is at the central prison of Mpimba. He would be in bad shape, according to information circulating on social networks.

The origin of this “punishment” would be a letter signed Fabien Banciryanino addressed to the director of this prison with a copy to the CNIDH to denounce the mistreatment suffered by prisoners, according to this same information.

The President of the Independent National Commission for Human Rights (CNIDH), Sixte-Vigny Nimubona confirms this isolation but affirms that he does not know the exact reason for the isolation. "Not everything that is said on social media is necessarily true." He went on Monday, March 29 to the central prison of Mpimba to inquire about the situation.

Questioned on Monday, the president of the CNIDH affirms that he spoke with the director of this prison establishment. And the latter confirmed the isolation of the former deputy for misconduct. "Whether he is mistreated or not, I don't know at the moment," said the president of the CNIDH. For Sixte-Vigny Nimubona, it is normal to correct a prisoner who has broken the rules, the law l 'allowed. “And Banciryanino is not the only one to be corrected”.

A denunciation…

Former deputy Fabien Banciryanino sent a letter to the director of Mpimba prison denouncing the mistreatment of prisoners by law enforcement officers inside the prison. in solitary confinement or ''correction'' and who are not allowed to move. "Some come out crippled," he says.

According to this former deputy, a large sum of money is collected from each prisoner by the “generals”, those in charge of the prison residences known as “neighborhoods”.

Rooms vary between 40,000 to 500,000 Burundian francs, depending on the prisoner's standing, without any receipt. For Mr. Banciryanino, it is a theft because this sum is not indicated anywhere in the law. Concerning these denunciations, the president of the CNIDH affirms that every prisoner has the right to inform the authorities of the prison. about his prison conditions. “But it is difficult to know if it is the truth or not, not being regularly inside the prison”.

What we know, he pointed out, in all the dungeons, there is a bad habit of asking for the "candle", a sum of money that each new prisoner must give to integrate. "Sometimes we find that there are people being tortured for this." For the president of the CNIDH, it is a violation of the law.

According to him, demanding money from prisoners is also against the law. “It is not up to the prisoner to pay to survive. The State has the means to provide for the needs of prisoners”, recalled the president of the CNIDH.