A radio executive in Burundi detained for refusing to reveal a news source has been temporarily released from jail.
Reuters reported that Bob Rugurika, director of the local Radio Publique Africaine in Burundi, was released Wednesday after posting a bail of 15 million franc, roughly $9,600 or £6,200.
Rugurika was jailed on January 20 after he refused to reveal the identity of the person who called his show and confessed to the murder of three Catholic nuns.
Burundi's media law currently requires all media personnel to divulge to the state the sources of their news stories that deal with "matters of state security and public order."
The three nuns, Lucia Pulici, 75, Bernadetta Boggian, 79, and Olga Raschietti, 82, were murdered in September in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura. Sisters Pulici and Raschietti were found partially decapitated in their dormitory, while Boggian was only discovered a day after.
The Italian Catholic diocese of Parma said in a report by the BBC that the murders seemed to be the work of "a mentally unbalanced person" that was attempting an "armed robbery."
In January, Rugurika broadcast a series of investigative reports on the case. These included the confession of the unnamed person who claimed to have carried out the murder. The caller also implicated several officials in Burundi's intelligence community, but provided no evidence.
Rugurika later refused to divulge the identity of the man, and was jailed on conspiracy to murder, violating confidentiality in criminal investigations, harbouring a criminal, and failing to uphold "public solidarity", according to Human Rights Watch.
Rugurika attempted to secure a release by posting bail, but the Bujumbura High Court's pretrial chamber denied his application on February 4. His lawyers appealed to the Court of Appeal and succeeded this week in securing his release.
Rugurika's arrest spurred international reaction. Several organisations and governments called for his release, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The United Nations also criticised the detention, saying it raises "serious concerns about the exercise of the freedom of expression" in Burundi.
In addition, Reuters reported, European Parliament last week passed a resolution demanding the broadcaster's release and threatening to suspend a 432 million euro aid programme to Burundi.
