Police and judicial authorities, as well as CNDD-FDD officials, have been generally unwilling to acknowledge that the arrest of opposition members and other attempts to silence dissent are politically motivated. Police usually argue that arrests are legally correct and justified. For instance, they have argued that various opposition parties’ activities–ranging from holding meetings to passing around articles published by opposition figures–are of a seditious nature (see Annex 2).[247] In one exception, CNDD-FDD spokesperson Onésime Nduwimana acknowledged that the expulsion of the 22 opposition parliamentarians was a political choice.[248]