Burundian journalist Hassan Ruvakuki on Thursday pleaded not guilty during a hearing for his appeal against his life sentence on terrorism charges.“I am not a terrorist. I have never, and will never be one,” Ruvakuki said. “I am a journalist.”Ruvakuki, who works for French radio station RFI’s Swahili service and local broadcaster Bonesha FM, was handed a life jail sentence in June, a ruling condemned by press rights groups.He was convicted of planning an attack by an armed group on the eastern Cankuzo province of neighbouring Tanzania that left dozens dead, and spreading news of it afterwards.“I do not deny going to Tanzania in November 2011 to document the birth of a new rebellion. I went there to do my job,” he said. “In spite of this, I was arrested like a common thief, treated like an enemy of the state and condemned like the worst of criminals,” added Ruvakuki. “Today I demand to be exonerated.”A lower court had previously handed life sentences to Ruvakuki and 13 of his co-accused. Nine other co-accused, found guilty of complicity, were handed 15-year jail terms.Numerous diplomats, civil society representatives and journalists were in court to follow the proceedings.Recent violence in Burundi has raised fears that the country, which has struggled to emerge from more than a decade of conflict that left 300,000 dead, could slide back into war.The hearing resumes on Friday with a verdict expected within two months time.
