Open letter to the President

Case COD 100502.1 Release from detention Geneva, 13 May 2002 The International Secretariat of OMCT was informed by la Voix des Sans-Voix, VSV a member of the OMCT network, of the release of Mrs. Zhang Ling Wang, Mr. Pong-Pong (15), Mr. Zi et Mr. Kin, all Chinese citizens, as well as of Mrs. Linda, a housekeeper of Filipino nationality, who had been arbitrarily arrested on 25th April in Kinshasa/Gombe by several agents of the National Information Agency (l’Agence Nationale de Renseignements, ANR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Brief summary of the facts The International Secretariat of OMCT had been informed by Voice of the Voiceless that on Thursday 25th April 2002 at around 22:00, four Chinese citizens, Mrs. Ling, her son Mr. Pong-Pong, and two other Chinese nationals, Mr. Zi and Mr. Kin, along with Mrs. Linda, a housekeeper of Filipino nationality, were apprehended at 72 Avenue Tshatshi (residence of Mr. Kisombe Kiakumwisi), town of Gombe by several agents of the National Information Agency (ANR) who arrived on two jeeps. These two agents driven by two directors of the ANR first arrived at around 20:00 before returning at around 22:00 seeking the owner of the residence. At the moment when the policeman guarding the villa wanted to enquire about the situation, the ANR got their hands on the five foreigners who had just returned from a trip in a car. The five occupants of the villa had been put on board the two Jeeps and driven two an ANR prison in Kinshasa/Gombe. It is important to point out that the majority of the victims had arrived in Kinshasa around two months earlier and rented a house from Mrs. Sabina Soi Fan, who is currently in Hong Kong, China. As for Mrs. Ling, she is reportedly well-known in business circles because of her stores in Kinshasa/Gombe. The motive for the arrest of the occupants of the villa was not known. They were interrogated about their passports and their stay in the DRC. On 2nd May 2002, the detainees were transferred to prison cells at the Directorate General for Migration (Direction Générale des Migrations, DGM), behind the ex Kin-Mazière building, where they were placed in detention. Meanwhile, Mr. Kisombe Kiakumwisi, owner of the villa, reportedly warned his tenant, Mrs. Sabina Soi Fan, to vacate the residence at the end of May 2002 in case of non-payment of three-months rent and of non-renewal of the rental. Efforts were undertaken by the Chinese ambassador in Kinshasa to identify the victims as well as to pressure the Congolese authorities and resulted in the release of the detainees. OMCT expresses its great satisfaction regarding the release on 7th May of these persons detained in the absence of valid legal accusations. Geneva, 13 May 2002