(Goma) – Congolese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release two activists who were arbitrarily arrested on April 19, 2021, after demonstrating peacefully in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said. Elisée Lwatumba and Eric Muhindo, both members of the youth movement Fight for Change (Fight for Change, or Lucha), have been charged with “incitement to civil disobedience” and “threats of aggression” and face up to ‘to five years in prison, their lawyer said.
The arrest in North Kivu province of the two activists and the unfounded charges against them are part of a government crackdown on pro-democracy groups, the media and other dissenting voices, which has been tightening since the beginning. 2020. On May 6, 2021, nearly three weeks after their arrest, martial law was imposed in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, further threatening fundamental rights and freedoms, and effectively blocking all court cases. .
“The arbitrary detention of Elisha Lwatumba and Eric Muhindo is a worrying reminder that peaceful protesters are still in danger in Congo,” said Thomas Fessy, senior Congo researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should demonstrate their commitment to freedom of expression by immediately releasing the two activists and dropping the charges against them. “
Agents from Congo’s National Intelligence Agency (ANR) arrested Lwatumba and Muhindo on their way home following a peaceful demonstration on April 19 in Butembo, North Kivu province. Muhindo told Human Rights Watch that they were forced into a police vehicle and taken to an ANR cell. “They beat us with sticks, even while interrogating us,” Muhindo said. “They told us to confess that we were Mai-Mai [rebels], and that we were part of a group that is trying to start a revolt.
Earlier today, the two activists took part in protests around town as part of a general strike movement which began on April 5 in the towns of Goma, Beni and Butembo in North Kivu. Protesters called on authorities to stop massacres perpetrated by armed groups in Beni territory and said MONUSCO, the United Nations peacekeeping mission, should leave Congo due to its perceived inaction to protect civilians.
Armed groups and government forces have kill more than 1,250 civilians during attacks on Beni territory since the start of a major military operation on October 30, 2019. These general strikes or dead city days (“Ghost towns”) have largely paralyzed the socio-economic activities of the province.
Lwatumba and Muhindo were held in an intelligence service detention center for two nights, then taken to the prosecutor’s office, where they were questioned in the presence of their lawyer. On April 24, they were transferred to the overcrowded central prison in Butembo. Faced with extremely difficult conditions, each paid around US $ 27 to be able to access an area where they were allowed to bring a mattress from their homes, which they share with two other inmates, Muhindo said.
Congolese and international human rights activists campaigned for their release. On July 13, the Congolese Minister of Human Rights, Fabrice Puela, Told journalists that “these young people should not see their future compromised because they demonstrated in the interest of the Republic”. Puela said he had discussed their case with the head of military justice “to see how to obtain their provisional release”.
Lwatumba, 22, was in his final year of high school when he was arrested. “I will miss the state exams [giving access to higher education], he told Human Rights Watch. Muhindo, 32, is married with two children and owns a small business. “It has become very difficult to take care of my family,” he said.
Their case was initially to be heard by the Peace Tribunal (Peace Court), a civil court for low-gravity crimes and offenses. However, under martial law orders – contrary to regional human rights standards – their case will be prosecuted in a military court. In its July 7 briefing, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office said that because the cases were not being addressed, “dozens of people have been held in pretrial detention without [their cases] to be heard, in violation of the law. He said military courts did not “have the means to deal with criminal cases pending before civilian courts”.
A third Lucha activist has been arbitrarily detained in Goma since July 6. Perfect Muhani had come from Butembo to work when local authorities asked him to meet with the provincial head of the National Intelligence Agency. Rather, he was taken to the military prosecutor’s office.
He was asked about allegations by Lucha a month earlier that the staff of the Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi Foundation of the Congolese first lady embezzled property intended for people displaced by the recent Nyiragongo volcano eruption. The foundation filed a defamation complaint complaint against Lucha. Lucha also alleged that local authorities, some of whom have since been arrested, were responsible for the embezzlement of property.
“I said I was not there [in Goma, at the time of the eruption], and that I didn’t know anything about the case, ”Muhani told Human Rights Watch. “When they finished interrogating me, they said, ‘You are under arrest.'”
Muhani said he spent a night in a cell in the prosecutor’s office and was told to pay $ 10 or be tortured. The next day, he was presented with a provisional arrest warrant and transferred to the central prison in Goma, where he is still accused of “defamatory statements”, “contempt of the supreme magistracy” and “association of criminals ”. These unfounded charges against Muhani must be dropped and he must be released immediately and unconditionally, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases involving state agents and security forces targeting activists and journalists over the past year. On January 20, a military court acquitted eight Lucha members after spending a month in detention and threatened up to 10 years in prison for participating in a peaceful march in Beni territory.
Also in Beni, dozens of children calling for peace were violently accosted and arrested by police on April 29. President Félix Tshisekedi apologized to all the children involved on June 17, but only after he appointed the police commander in charge of the raid, François Kabeya, mayor of Goma on May 25.
“The Congolese government continues to target activists who raise uncomfortable truths and advocate for peace and justice,” Fessy said. “The activists Lwatumba, Muhindo and Muhani should never have been arrested and now martial law holds back the court cases, keeping these activists unjustly in detention.
