Burundi has freed at least 1,300 prisoners at a ceremony attended by President Evariste Ndayishimiye, which is part of a presidential pardon, to try free up overcrowded jails.
Warning detainees against a relapse at a prison in Bujumbura, President Ndayishimiye said crimes have in part crippled the country, through offences not sanctioned by the state.
A total of 5,255 inmates, 40 percent of Burundi’s prison population, will be released in the coming weeks. 3,000 will be imminently released and another 2,000 will have their sentences cut.
The detainees, including those arrested in 2015 following the demonstrations against the third term of the late President Nkurunziza, say they are relieved.
They also thanked Ndayishimiye and hope that others will have the same chance.
former prisoner Kabura Muhamed who was one of the beneficiaries, expressed happiness saying this is the first time that a president has come to free the prisoners himself.
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