They faced persecution for defacing an image of Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza in their workbooks. According to CNN, the three girls arrested for their actions have all been released.

Human Rights Watch reports seven children were apprehended initially earlier this month for drawing on the photos of the longtime head of state. Their imprisonment birthed the online hashtag #FreeOurGirls, with many joining the young women in solidarity.

All the solidarity with #FreeOurGirls who have been jailed for no reason as all the authoritarian would do.

Those girls should return to school to catch up what they missed as soon as possible #Burundi . https://t.co/4DlkKbMGDG

— Abdalaziz Alhamza (@3z0ooz) March 25, 2019

How can anyone justify jailing children for doodling in a textbook? There’s no excuse! The #Burundi government must immediately release these girls.

Girls belong in school, not jail! #FreeOurGirls

https://t.co/KdneT8oK1g

— Michael Levitt, MP ???????? (@LevittMichael) March 25, 2019

A 13-year-old girl was deemed too young to accept liability, and three others were released shortly after their arrests. The remaining three were indicted March 18 on charges of insulting a head of state, a punishment that carries five years in jail if found guilty.

"With so many real crimes being committed in Burundi, it’s tragic that children are the ones being prosecuted for harmless scribbles," Lewis Mudge, Human Rights Watch's Central Africa director, argued in his report.

Reuters obtained a statement from Aimée Laurentine Kanyana, the minister for justice in Burundi, and she cautioned that future cases would result in more severe consequences.

"We call on parents to strengthen the education of their children. We remind children that they have to respect authorities, that the age of criminal responsibility is 15," Kanyana said. "Next time, the justice will clamp down on such behaviors."

Mudge also claims similar offenses have occurred in the past.

4/5 This is not the first time children are targeted with political repression in Burundi. In 2016 authorities also arrested schoolchildren for doodling on images of Nkurunziza.https://t.co/uUQKVElFcK
pic.twitter.com/D0uGNTC7KV

— Lewis Mudge (@LewisMudge) March 20, 2019

Eight students were also detained in 2016 for drawing on Nkurunziza's portrait and writing sayings such as "No to the 3rd term." In that case, classmates staged demonstrations to protest their arrests. Law enforcement shot and injured two scholars and a motorcycle driver, who eventually passed away from his injuries.

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Pierre Nkurunziza

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