MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) There is evidence that Tanzanian police have been abducting, abusing and forcibly bringing refugees back to Burundi despite a threat to their lives, a global watchdog said Monday.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) cited families of 18 victims kidnapped between October 2019 and August 2020 as saying that their loved ones had been held in custody in inhumane conditions for weeks, with eight being handed over to Burundi where they were arrested by authorities.
"Tanzanian authorities' enforced disappearances of Burundian refugees and asylum seekers in Tanzania are heinous crimes, not least because of the anguish and suffering caused to family members, many of whom fled similar abuses in Burundi," HRW Africa Director Mausi Segun said.
Tanzania has hosted hundreds of thousands of Burundians over the past few decades. Many fled Burundi after then-President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term in 2015, triggering a human rights crisis.
HRW said Burundian and Tanzanian security forces were apparently collaborating to target Burundi's real or perceived opposition supporters. The United Nations demanded that Tanzania conduct an inquiry into suspected failures to ensure refugees' security.
