Democratic Republic of Congo
17.10.02
Urgent Interventions
DRC: suspension by the government of the moratorium on death penalty
Congo : The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) expresses its concern over developments in the trial against the persons allegedly implicated in the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
On 15 March 2002 at the penitential and re-education centre in Kinshasa, the Court of Military Order (COM) commenced proceedings in the case of the 119 persons accused of having been implicated in the assassination of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
The Court is a military tribunal of exceptional jurisdication created in 1997 by Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Since its establishment, the Court has been used on numerous occasions in order to judge civilians, in particular political leaders, journalists and other high-profile persons. The Court has also handed down death sentences on many occasions. The decisions of the Court of Military Order are not open to appeal.
A moratorium on the carrying out of death sentences was adopted by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2000. Nevertheless, the death penalty has not yet been abolished.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is deeply concerned by the manner in which the Court of Military Order functions. The fact that all of the judges are either senior military officers from the armed forces or from the national police leads to serious doubts concerning the competence, independence and impartiality of the Court.
OMCT would like to recall that, in general, the competence of military tribunals must be limited to the adjudication of breaches of military law committed by military personnel.
Given the large number of accused persons in this case as well as their diversity – the accused range from high-ranking members of the military to housewives – OMCT believes that there is a serious risk that the individual rights of the accused will not be respected and that they will be judged and sentenced as a collective. In addition, the majority of the accused were only able to contact their lawyers at the time of the preliminary hearing which was, for some, after more than one year in preventive detention.
Despite the moratorium decreed by the Congo in 2000 in relation to the death penalty, OMCT fears that the very political nature of this trial may push the authorities to ignore the moratorium and hand down death sentences.
Eric Sottas, Director of OMCT, believes that the Court of Military Order is an exceptional jurisdiction that does not respect international norms and standards applicable to the conduct of fair trials, and calls for the urgent abolition of the Court.
Contact OMCT : Eric Sottas, Director +4122/809.49.39
On 15 March 2002 at the penitential and re-education centre in Kinshasa, the Court of Military Order (COM) commenced proceedings in the case of the 119 persons accused of having been implicated in the assassination of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
The Court is a military tribunal of exceptional jurisdication created in 1997 by Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Since its establishment, the Court has been used on numerous occasions in order to judge civilians, in particular political leaders, journalists and other high-profile persons. The Court has also handed down death sentences on many occasions. The decisions of the Court of Military Order are not open to appeal.
A moratorium on the carrying out of death sentences was adopted by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2000. Nevertheless, the death penalty has not yet been abolished.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is deeply concerned by the manner in which the Court of Military Order functions. The fact that all of the judges are either senior military officers from the armed forces or from the national police leads to serious doubts concerning the competence, independence and impartiality of the Court.
OMCT would like to recall that, in general, the competence of military tribunals must be limited to the adjudication of breaches of military law committed by military personnel.
Given the large number of accused persons in this case as well as their diversity – the accused range from high-ranking members of the military to housewives – OMCT believes that there is a serious risk that the individual rights of the accused will not be respected and that they will be judged and sentenced as a collective. In addition, the majority of the accused were only able to contact their lawyers at the time of the preliminary hearing which was, for some, after more than one year in preventive detention.
Despite the moratorium decreed by the Congo in 2000 in relation to the death penalty, OMCT fears that the very political nature of this trial may push the authorities to ignore the moratorium and hand down death sentences.
Eric Sottas, Director of OMCT, believes that the Court of Military Order is an exceptional jurisdiction that does not respect international norms and standards applicable to the conduct of fair trials, and calls for the urgent abolition of the Court.
Contact OMCT : Eric Sottas, Director +4122/809.49.39