Burundi Prisons are hugely overcrowded. On June 15th 2012, there were a total of 10,484 prisoners while the official capacity of the country’s 11 prisons is 4,050 detainees. This situation has served to worsen prisoners’ living conditions, resulting in a prison system that is both inhuman and unlawful. The question of overcrowded prisons has been frequently discussed during various roundtables debates organized by International Bridges to Justice, especially regarding the high rates of pre trial detention in Burundi. On June 25th 2012, a few days before the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Burundi’s Independence, the President of the Republic enacted a pardon decree regarding prisoners. This pardon applied to all those condemned to 5 years of penalty or less, condemned children under the age of 18, pregnant women or women detained with their infant, elderly prisoners of at least 60 years, and sufferers of incurable disease as proven by a commission of doctors. Exceptions apply to those convicted of rape, crime against humanity, carrying a weapon without license, gang robbery, the use of a weapon whilst robbing, and those convicted of undermining the internal State security.
In a further Golden Jubilee announcement, the Ministry of Justice ordered the provisional release for detainees who have served the first quarter of their penalty and who had behaved well in prison. Approximately 2,946 prisoners are expected to be released. Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice issued a circular to the Supreme Court and the General Attorney, providing for provisional release of defendants whose pre-trial detention has exceeded six months while the offense they are accused of, under Burundi criminal Law, could not be punished by more than five years of penalty if proven guilty.
Across Burundi, hundreds of prisoners are being released according to these three main measures. Overall, the government estimates that around 7,000 prisoners will walk free.
IBJ applauds these governmental efforts to improve living conditions in prisons, and to improve the treatment of the accused in Burundi. These measures are very encouraging and have come at a time where they were sorely needed. IBJ is pleased to find that, among the prisoners who are to be released, are some whom IBJ’s lawyers have worked with. However IBJ notes that many juveniles helped by IBJ lawyers fall outside the remit of these measures, because they were convicted of rape. Henceforth we suggest that when these measures are going through the application stage, the Minister of Justice takes into consideration this vulnerable category of inmates, whom deserve particular attention according to the Convention of the rights of the child ratified by Burundi in 1990.
Many additional efforts must be taken by all criminal justice system stakeholders in order prevent future prison overcrowding. We believe that early access to counsel is one of the main pillars with which to address these criminal issues, both for the benefit of the accused and of prison administrations alike. IBJ gratefully acknowledges the Ministry of Justice Four Years Policy (2011-2015) and will continue to contribute to its objectives of humanizing criminal Justice in BURUNDI.