Burundi police detains 11 students for defacing Burundi president photo

Burundi: 11 High school students in Muramvya, 50km east of Burundi capital city, Bujumbura were on Friday detained for insulting the president, Pierre Nkurunziza.

During a protest by students against the arrest of the students, police opened fire wounding at least two people said residents and students.

A police official confirmed the incident saying;

"The children, six girls and five boys aged over 14, were placed in custody in Muramvya central prison in mid-afternoon," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

According to an eye witness, hundreds of local students immediately regrouped to request the release of their colleagues, following their arrest.
The protesters, between the age of 12 and 17, were marching on the highway between Bujumbura and Gitega.
Another student said;

 "We were in the streets to ask for the release of our colleagues who were unjustly arrested, then some police officers who were in a pick-up vehicle of the intelligence office opened fire on us, a colleague was hurt by one bullet and was taken to hospital for treatment,"

A police officer confirmed that a student, along with a taxi driver, had been shot, while witnesses said two students and a passing motorcyclist had been wounded.
Two weeks ago in a separate incident, over 300 students of a school in Ruziba were sent home after staff discovered a picture of the president had been defaced in textbooks.
Insulting the president carries a potential jail term of 5 to 10 years, according to Burundi's penal code.