Death sentences in DR Congo coup trial spark outcry at home and abroad
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a series of death sentences in a recent coup trials causing
00:05a stir both in and out of the country. 37 people, including six Westerners, have been condemned to
00:12death in connection to a failed coup back in May. The affairs also opened up the debate on the use
00:17of the death penalty. Our Emmett Livingston tells us more.
00:21The sentencing to death of 37 people in DR Congo is causing a diplomatic stir.
00:32Belgium's foreign minister expressed her deep concern following the recent condemnation of
00:36Belgian citizen Jean-Jacques Wando in connection to a failed coup on May 19th. Wando is a security
00:42expert who worked for DR Congo's intelligence agency. Congolese authorities accuse him of
00:46being the mastermind behind the coup attempt, but his lawyers argue that the evidence is
00:50extremely flimsy. The Belgian minister called her Congolese counterpart to discuss the case
00:54and also summoned the Congolese ambassador. The European Union said that it condemned the death
00:59penalties handed down. It also stressed the right to a fair defense and said that the rule of law
01:03was on the back foot in DR Congo. Three Americans, one British citizen and a Canadian have also been
01:09condemned. The rest of those sentenced to death are Congolese. The verdict has triggered a reaction
01:14from Congolese rights group The Voice for the Voiceless.
01:18We are very, very worried because this sentence is extreme. Because apart from the death penalty,
01:26there are many other sentences that can be applied in certain circumstances.
01:33But in this case, it feels like the death penalty is being handed down lightly. That's why,
01:40in the interest of DRC, we have asked the Congolese authorities to commute this death
01:46sentence to life imprisonment. DR Congo had long maintained a moratorium on capital punishment,
01:52with death penalties automatically commuted to life imprisonment. But the government lifted this
01:57moratorium in March, citing the need to deter traitors in the army and urban delinquents.
02:02Since the moratorium has been lifted, some 80 people have been sentenced to death. No one has
02:06yet been executed, but rights groups fear that death penalties could be carried out in the future.