Floribert Chebeya
Appeal trial resumes in the case of
murder of Floribert Chebeya, an activist, hailed by the United Nations
as "a champion of human rights".
Chebeya, the executive office of the
human rights NGO "The Voice of the Voiceless" (VSV), was killed on on
June 2, 2010 in Kinshasa, shortly before he was supposed to meet the police
inspector general John Numbi.
On June 23, 2011, five policemen had
been jailed for their involvement in the murder, four of them sentenced to
death.
"This judgment was unsatisfactory for the victims," said Jean-Charles Paras, Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) expert in civil and political rights. "There are still too many grey areas, particularly surrounding the true cause of death and the responsibilities of all players involved in this affair. We are not convinced that all of them have been indicted."
The appeal trial had also been called for by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. "The importance of this trial cannot be overstated. Mr. Chebeya was a pioneer of the human rights movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and his murder sent a devastating blow to human rights defenders across the country," said the commissioner.
Several human rights NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as Chebeya's family have urged Congolese President Joseph Kabila to allow the trial of police inspector Numbi whom they blamed for the homicide, but who could only be tried by the high military court.
"This judgment was unsatisfactory for the victims," said Jean-Charles Paras, Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) expert in civil and political rights. "There are still too many grey areas, particularly surrounding the true cause of death and the responsibilities of all players involved in this affair. We are not convinced that all of them have been indicted."
The appeal trial had also been called for by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. "The importance of this trial cannot be overstated. Mr. Chebeya was a pioneer of the human rights movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and his murder sent a devastating blow to human rights defenders across the country," said the commissioner.
Several human rights NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as Chebeya's family have urged Congolese President Joseph Kabila to allow the trial of police inspector Numbi whom they blamed for the homicide, but who could only be tried by the high military court.
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