The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its African regional organisation, the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), expressed great dismay at the continued detention of journalist Jean Claude Kavumbagu, Director of Netpress Agency, who was arrested on July 17, 2010, and accused of treason - a charge that puts him at risk of being sentenced to life imprisonment.

In a joint letter to Pierre Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi, Jim Boumelha and Omar Faruk Osman, respectively the presidents of IFJ and FAJ, said "We find the decision to detain the journalist irregular because, under this law, someone can be kept in custody only if he has disturbed public safety. But since the publication of this article, no facts have been reported to demonstrate this concern."

The two federation presidents questioned the reason for detaining their colleague, Jean Claude Kavumbagu, arguing that, "the prosecution has not proved at any instance, even during the hearing on 1st September 2010, and in any manner whatsoever, that our colleague has refused to respond to summonses, despite repeated harassment he suffered previously from the judicial authorities".

The letter to President Pierre Nkurunziza made clear that the International Federation of Journalists and the Federation of African Journalists consider that this arrest is a violation of journalists' rights and represents a real source of worry and concern for the journalistic community in general, and fellow journalists from Burundi in particular. Jim Boumelha and Omar Faruk called on Burundian government to "respect freedom of expression and opinion as guaranteed by the constitution (of Burundi) and the international instruments it (Burundi) has signed and ratified."

"The illegal detention of Jean Claude Kavumbagu is a gross infringement of fundamental rights of journalists and citizens of Burundi," stated the two federation presidents, and they called on Pierre Nkurunziza to "use his authority to release Jean Claude Kavumbagu, to uphold the constitutional rights of journalists and to promote fair justice and decriminalising press offences in the area of media professionals."

According to information provided by the Burundian Journalists Union (UBJ), which is affiliated to the IFJ and FAJ, the decision of the High Court of Bujumbura, in its session of September 6, 2010, confirming the continued detention of Jean Claude Kavumbagu, was rendered after the deadline set by law, and no date has been set by the judge to review the case.