Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye has pardoned a journalist who was serving a 10-year prison sentence for "endangering the integrity of the national territory."

Floriane Irangabiye "benefits from total remission of sentences," read a statement from the President's Office dated August 14.

The statement said Irangabiye, who was in a Bujumbura prison, had requested for pardon.

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Arrested in August 2022, Irangabiye was sentenced in January 2023 in a trial that rights groups said was unfair.

The charges against Irangabiye stemmed from her work on the diaspora-based news outlet Radio Igicaniro, which was critical of the Burundian government.

She was detained after her return to Burundi from Rwanda, where she had lived for 10 years.

Press freedom groups had demanded Irangabiye's release.