Human Rights Watch spoke with dozens of victims of abuses and their family members. Some victims—mostly detained FNL members who had suffered ill-treatment—were encountered on visits to jails and prisons. Journalists, local administrative officials, and human rights observers from Burundian organizations and the UN put Human Rights Watch in contact with other victims and witnesses. Human Rights Watch researchers generally conducted private interviews with one person at a time, though some interviews in Nyamurenza, Nyabikere and Kayogoro communes were conducted with small groups of four to eight victims. Researchers conducted interviews in French or, with the help of an interpreter, in Kirundi or Kiswahili. No incentives were offered or provided to persons interviewed.