FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Freedom of expression was stifled at all levels of society. Hundreds of secondary school students were suspended for doodling on a photo of the President in their textbooks. In June dozens of students were arrested and accused of insulting the President, including in Muramvya, Cankuzo and Rumonge provinces. Two were charged with participating in an insurrectionary movement and mobilizing students to demonstrate. The rest were released by mid-August. Burundian and international journalists faced persecution, despite the reopening of two private radio stations in February. Phil Moore and Jean-Philippe Rémy, who were working for the French newspaper Le Monde, were arrested in January. Julia Steers, an American journalist; Gildas Yihundimpundu, a Burundian journalist; and their Burundian driver were arrested on 23 October. Julia Steers was taken to the US Embassy the same day, but Gildas Yihundimpundu and the driver were held overnight at the SNR. Léon Masengo, a journalist with Isanganiro FM, was briefly detained on 11 November after he went to cover the interrogation of a police officer accused of many human rights violations. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION Members of opposition political parties faced repression. In March, at least 16 members of National Liberation Forces (FNL) party were arrested at a bar in Kirundo province. The police said they were holding an unauthorized political meeting. Local opposition party leaders who opposed President Nkurunziza’s re-election were beaten and threatened by the Imbonerakure. Throughout the country, the Imbonerakure put pressure on people to join it or the ruling CNDD-FDD, and carried out campaigns of intimidation against those who refused. In December, the national assembly adopted two laws on national and foreign 102 NGOs which will impose stricter controls on their work. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS Human rights work became increasingly dangerous and difficult. The SNR increased surveillance of human rights defenders and other perceived government critics. Victims and witnesses of violations were afraid to speak out. In October, the Minister of Interior banned five leading human rights organizations that had been suspended in 2015. The Minister suspended five others the following week, one of which, Lique Iteka (the Burundian Human Rights League) was permanently closed in December, following the publication of a controversial report. Following the review of Burundi by the UN Committee against Torture in July, a Burundian prosecutor called on the Bar Association to strike off four lawyers who contributed to the civil society report submitted to the Committee. Pamela Capizzi of Switzerland-based TRIAL International, an NGO, was asked to leave the country on 6 October despite having a visa. LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY Victims of human rights violations continued to face serious challenges in accessing justice. Journalist Esdras Ndikumana was tortured in August 2015 and filed a complaint at the Supreme Court in October 2015. No progress was made in the case in 2016. Judicial investigations continued to lack credibility. In March, the Prosecutor General announced the findings of a commission of inquiry into alleged extrajudicial executions committed on 11 December 2015 and the subsequent discovery of suspected mass graves. According to the report, all but one person found dead in the Bujumbura neighbourhoods of Musaga, Ngagara and Nyakabiga had participated in the fighting. While an exchange of fire did take place on 11 December, this was followed by cordonand-search operations in which many people were killed by a bullet to the head and at least one body was found tied up. Amnesty International Report 2016/17