British Photojournalist Phil Moore Released After Arrest in Burundi
British Photojournalist Phil Moore Released After Arrest in Burundi
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Left British photojournalist Phil Moore in Nairobi, Kenya on on Feb. 22, 2013. Right French journalist Jean-Philippe Remy posing after receiving the Web Journalism Trophy award during the annual Bayeux-Calvados award for war correspondant's prizes ceremony in Bayeux, western France on Oct. 12, 2013.Phil Moore—AFP/Getty Images; Charly Triballeau—AFP/Getty Images
Burundi’s security forces have released two foreign journalists that had been arrested earlier today.
Le Monde’s Africa bureau chief Jean-Philippe Remy and freelance photojournalist Phil Moore were following militants from an opposition group when they were arrested in the capital city, Bujumbura. “The two foreigners were arrested in the company of armed criminals,” AFP reported, quoting a statement from the country’s security ministry. In total, 17 people had been detained.
Le Monde said that both journalists had “valid visas and were merely exercising their professional duties by meeting all concerned parties involved in the current tensions in Burundi.”
Moore is a regular contributor to Agence France-Presse. “There is no justification for the arrest of these two experienced reporters who are widely respected in the profession,” AFP chairman Emmanuel Hoogsaid in a statement directed at Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza.
A protestor throws fuel onto a shop kiosk dragged into the road to form a barricade in the Cibitoke neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi, on May 7, 2015. Phil Moore—AFP/Getty ImagesPolice officers line up against protestors in the opposition neighborhood of Musaga in Bujumbura, on May 1, 2015. Phil MooreA policeman fires a tear-gas canister on protestors throwing rocks, as police try to clear barricades set-up in the Nyakabiga neighborhood of Bujumbura, on May 8, 2015. Phil Moore—AFP/Getty ImagesA protestor lies dead on the ground after having been shot in the head by police in clashes between protestors on the border between Cibitoke and Kinama neighborhoods in Bujumbura, on May 7, 2015. Phil Moore—AFP/Getty ImagesA relative of Patrick Ndikumana mourns his death at the family's home in an opposition neighborhood of Bujumbura, on June 28, 2015. Phil MooreA man prays during the funeral of Jean-Claude Niyonzima, who was killed on April 26 following the protests, at the Regina Mundi cathedral in Bujumbura, on May 2, 2015. Phil MooreMen place the coffin of Emmanuel Ndere Yimana, an opposition supporter assassinated last night, into a grave at a cemetery on the outskirts of Bujumbura, on July 23, 2015.Phil Moore—AFP/Getty ImagesA soldier stands next to a gate painted with the Burundian flag at the Prince Rwagasore Stadium in Bujumbura, on June 27, 2015, during rehearsals for Independence Day celebrations on July 1. Phil MooreA man sweeps the red carpet prepared for the arrival of President Pierre Nkurunziza at Independence Day celebrations in Bujumbura, Burundi, on July 1, 2015.Phil MoorePresident Pierre Nkurunziza arrives amidst high security at Independence Day celebrations in Bujumbura, on July 1, 2015. Phil MooreA bust of Melchior Ndadaye, the first democratically elected president of Burundi, known locally as "the hero of democracy", assassinated three months after taking office, lies in a administrative building in Bujumbura, on June 30, 2015.Phil MooreA lady votes in the village of Buye, President Pierre Nkurunziza's village, in Ngozi province, northern Burundi, on July 21, 2015. Phil Moore—AFP/Getty ImagesOrphaned youths are pictured through a mesh window at the OPDE care home in an opposition neighborhood of Bujumbura, on July 27, 2015. Phil MooreStaff from the independent national electoral commission count ballots following voting in the neighborhood of Kinama in Bujumbura, on June 29, 2015. Phil MooreSpecks of sunlight fall on a wall through a tin-roof pockmarked by shrapnel holes in the bedroom of Suleiman Ndabarushimana, 43, in a poor neighborhood of Bujumbura, on July 27, 2015. Phil Moore
For the past year, Moore, 34, has regularly reported from Burundi, as the country descended into violence following a change of its constitution that allowed President Nkurunziza to seek a third mandate.
In a TIME interview, Moore had shared his plans to dig deeper into Burundi’s economic and social situation. “Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world,” he said. “I’ve been able to look at these other issues that underpin the problems the country is going through right now. It’s quite an important story not just because of what happening in Burundi, but also for what it means for the region.”
