FREE PATRICE FAYE

FREE PATRICE FAYE:  Sign The Petition

http://www.petitions24.net/liberez_patrice_faye


Incarcerated in the prison of Bujumbura (BURUNDI) since April 3rd, 2011
He has been sentenced to 25 years. He is innocent !
The naturalist and herpetologist Patrice Faye, "father" of the giant crocodile Gustave also known as the "Monster of the Tanganyika Lake", founder of the schools for war orphans and children of poverty (NGO “SOS Children of Burundi”), has been imprisoned since April 3rd , 2011, in squalid conditions, following allegations of rape made by five teenage girls attending his schools.
The prosecution dossier is inconsistent and full of incoherencies: of these five girls, the main accuser retracted and confessed she had invented the accusations to obtain money. All five accusing girls have claimed during the trial that Patrice was circumcised when he is not and the authorities have undergone no exams to define whether he is or not!
His process lasted only 5 hours, in a language (Kirundi) in which he was not able to understand the debates and accusations.
No defense witness was heard and no field investigation was made.
Patrice Faye is sentenced to 25 years of reclusion on the basis of mere accusations and assumptions.
Several lawyers were arrested in relation to this trial and the Right to information was repeatedly violated. The lawyer of the five complainants was arrested and imprisoned for “abetting espionage” as she allegedly facilitated the filming of a documentary on this case by a French TV Channel. What are they trying to hide ?
Patrice Faye is 58 years old and has been living in Burundi since 1978. He built his home there and dedicated his life to save Nature and lost children. He wrote theatre plays and two books, "Parcours d’un Aventurier Humaniste" [Journey of a humanist adventurer] published by Harmattan and "Enfants du Burundi" [Children of Burundi], in which he gives a voice to the children’s stories and explains his motivation in creating schools for war orphans and other poor and vulnerable children.
He is innocent.
His health is deteriorating.
His three schools, assisting 800 children, are in great difficulty.
WE MUST ACT NOW.
Despite the commitment of media and the interventions of the French Foreign Affairs Ministry who denounces “A travesty of justice in a country sinking into chaos",  Patrice, his family and friends need your help to spread the information and denounce this injustice and failure to assist a person in danger.
Sign the petition and register to Patrice’s support group (soutien.patrice@yahoo.fr) with your name, address, email and a message of support and encouragement for Patrice. Donations are possible but not mandatory.
THANK YOU.