The Burundi schoolgirls arrested for doodling on President’s photo are still in custody despite order to free them

Multiple media reports had quoted Aimée Laurentine Kanyana, the minister of justice, telling state broadcaster RTNB on Monday that the girls had been due to be released.But Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, told CNN Wednesday the girls have still not been let go.The three schoolgirls were charged last Monday with “insulting the head of state” and faced up to five years in jail if convicted.”The Burundian justice minister announced on Monday that Ngozi court would be releasing the three girls from pre-trial detention while investigations are ongoing,” Mudge said.”Human Rights Watch confirmed today that the girls were still in detention, but we hope they will be released soon to continue their education.”Mudge added that while the girls have legal representation in the ongoing case, Human Rights Watch hopes the “absurd” charges they are facing are also dropped.”It’s outrageous that they are still under investigation for harmless doodles found in their school books,” he said.Their detention has led to international condemnation of the Burundian government as many on social media showed their support for the girls with crudely drawn images of Nkurunziza with the hashtag #FreeOurGirls.The schoolgirls, who are all minors, are part of an initial group of seven who were arrested earlier this month in Kirundo province, in Burundi’s northeast.A 13-year-old girl was released for being below the age of criminal responsibility while three others arrested alongside the schoolgirls were let go.CNN was not immediately able to reach the Burundi government for comment on the case. Schoolchildren in Burundi have previously been jailed for similar offenses.In 2016, agents of the National Intelligence Service of Burundi arrested eight secondary school students for allegedly insulting Nkurunziza by writing phrases like “Get out” or “No to the 3rd term” on a picture of the President in a textbook, according to Human Rights Watch. The same year, hundreds of children were expelled from several schools for scribbling on the President’s face in their books.President Nkurunziza, who has been in office since 2005, was re-elected to a third term in 2015 despite massive protests and concerns over the legality of running beyond his second term.But Burundi’s constitutional court ruled that he was eligible because he was picked by parliament, not elected by people, during his first term. Scores died in the violence that marred the 2015 vote.Members of the ruling party’s youth wing “have killed, arbitrarily arrested, abducted, beaten, raped, and intimidated real and perceived political opponents with impunity,” Mudge wrote last week. “Authorities should focus on holding perpetrators of serious rights violations to account instead of jailing school children for doodles.”Just weeks ago, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the agency was forced to shut its local office of 23 years under concerted pressure from the Burundian government.