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A defamation suit filed by Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza against a French television channel, a Belgian lawyer and a Burundian writer began in a court in the French capital, Paris.
Mr Nkurunziza said that three years ago, France 3 was broadcasting footage showing scenes of a mbadacre allegedly committed on one of its properties by the ruling party's youth wing. .
But he says the images have not been recorded in Burundi but somewhere in West Africa.
A "scroll bar" mentioning "evidence of acts of violence in Burundi", claiming that the film was shot in Karuzi, northwest of the capital, Bujumbura.
It was broadcast at the height of election-related violence in Burundi in 2016.
It was supposed to show members of the Burundian opposition, "who were murdered before being castrated and murdered by enthusiastic executioners," reports France24.
There were also pictures of people speaking Hausa, a language that is spoken neither in Burundi nor in any of the neighboring countries, said France24.
After Mr. Nkurunziza expressed his concerns about the film, France 3 apologized.
A Belgian lawyer, Bernard Maingain, reportedly entrusted the video to the French channel, while Burundian writer David Gakunzi was interviewed on the air about the film.
The international community has criticized the Burundian government for alleged human rights violations by its security agencies and the ruling party's youth wing, known as Imbonerakure.
The Burundian authorities have always rejected the accusations as fabrications.
The case continues.
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