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               Burundi Police Arrest French, British Journalists

   by Jill Craig

   Authorities in Burundi's capital have arrested two foreign journalists
   - British photographer Phil Moore and the Africa chief for the French
   daily Le Monde, Jean-Philippe Remy.

   Burundi's security minister said the two men were arrested Thursday in
   Bujumbura in the company of "armed criminals". Presidential spokesman
   Willy Nyamitwe said they were among 17 people arrested by police.

   Le Monde says Moore and Remy were arrested while meeting with
   government opponents.  It says both men were working for the paper and
   were doing their job by meeting with all parties involved in Burundi's
   political crisis.

   Julia Steers, a Nairobi-based freelance reporter working in Burundi,
   visited the two journalists Friday morning at Burundi's intelligence
   service headquarters where they were being held. She said the French
   ambassador and a representative from the British consulate also visited
   the pair.

   "Well, we found out ... both Phil and Jean-Philippe were arrested
   yesterday in the Nyakabiga neighborhood, in Bujumbura, in the capital,
   and they were held and questioned overnight," said Steers.  "We were
   able to speak with them briefly, and to bring them some food and some
   water, and they said that they were treated fairly, that they were
   questioned extensively but no evidence of mistreatment or torture."

   Charges unclear
   However, Steers noted that the charges remain somewhat unclear.

   "This morning, the police spokesman here said that Phil was arrested in
   the company of armed men, which is something that Phil denied when we
   were able to speak with him," she said. "He said that he was just
   walking alone in this neighborhood around 4:30 pm yesterday afternoon
   and was approached by a police office and arrested shortly thereafter.
   Then his colleague Jean-Philippe was arrested after that, so we're
   still not clear exactly what the charges are."

   Ilya Gridneff, chairman of the Foreign Correspondents' Association of
   East Africa, urged the Burundian authorities to release the
   journalists.

   "Both of them are consummate professionals, excellent journalists that
   have won awards, and have worked in tougher parts of the world, and
   essentially we've been pursuing all channels for their timely release,"
   said Gridneff.

   Human rights concerns
   That sentiment was echoed by Carina Tertsakian, senior researcher on
   Rwanda and Burundi for [1]Human Rights Watch.

   "We're very worried about their situation, we believe the Burundian
   authorities should immediately release the two journalists unless
   there's a credible legal basis for detaining them, and the authorities
   should guarantee their safety," Tertsakian said. "They should also
   ensure that they're not ill-treated in detention and that they can
   receive visits immediately from diplomatic representatives and
   lawyers."

   Steers said they are hoping the journalists will be released Friday
   afternoon.
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/burundi-police-arrest-french-journali
   sts/3168126.html

References

   1. http://www.hrw.org/
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/burundi-police-arrest-french-journalists/3168126.html