Burundi's national communication council (CNC) has suspended a newspaper's online forum because it claimed readers' comments had violated legal provisions that preclude "endangering national unity, public order and security, incitement to ethnic hatred, justification of crimes, and insults to the head of state."
The ban on the site run by the widely-read independent newspaper Iwacu is in place until 1 July.
"The CNC's decision to suspend a readers' forum is unnecessarily heavy-handed and punitive," said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
"While people may take issue with individual comments, it is unreasonable to hold a news forum responsible for readers' views, especially without saying exactly what supposedly posed a threat."
Iwacu has responded by suspending its whole website (see here) on there grounds that interactive dialogue with readers is an integral part of the site and of its philosophy of encouraging democratic debate.
The CNC is an arm of the Burundian government. Its members are appointed by the president, Pierre Nkurunziza.
Sources:Human Rights Watch/RSF