Democratic Republic of Congo
27.06.00
Urgent Interventions
D.R. Congo: Release/hindrance on freedom of movement
Case COD 100602
Arbitrary arrest/ Incommunicado detention
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Brief description of the facts
The International Secretariat of OMCT was informed by La Voix des Sans-Voix pour les droits de l'homme, VSV, a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest and detention of Mr. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula, the chief of the sports and leisure division of the Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mr. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula was apprehended on 22nd May 2002 at Lubumbashi by the National Information Agency (l'Agence nationale de Renseignements, ANR) and placed in detention at the provincial directorate of the ANR/Lubumbashi. On 25th May 2002, he was transferred to Kinshasa without his family’s knowledge and placed in detention in a cell at ANR/Roi Baudouin (ex-Lemera) in Kinshasa/Gombe. Since then, his relatives and friends in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi have not received any news of his condition.
M. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula was blamed for having allowed supporters of the Tout-puissant Mazembe football team to wear T-shirts baring the image of the Congolese businessman Raphaël Katebe Katoto, a presidential candidate during the transition. The latter was also Vice-president of the Alliance to Safeguard Inter-Congolese Dialogue (l'Alliance pour la Sauvegarde du Dialogue intercongolais, ASD), Director of Material Resources, and President of the political movement “Dynamique pour la Transition Neutre (DPTN).”
It is thought that Mr. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula was a victim of abuse in the ANR/Katanga. OMCT expresses its grave concern about his physical and psychological integrity in view of the fact that persons detained at the ANR/Roi Baudouin prison are frequently subjected to torture.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo urging them to:
1. take all necessary measures in order to safeguard the physical and psychological integrity of M. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula;
2. guarantee his right to meet with his family and/or lawyers as soon as possible;
3. order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
4. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights laws and standards.
Adresses
· H.E. President Joseph Kabila. Presidency of the Republic, Kinshasa-Ngaliema, Democratic Republic of Congo; Fax (+ 243) 880 02 120
· Minister of Interior, Ministry of Interior, Fax : +243 88 02 042, E-mail : djo@ic.cd
· Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, BP 3137, Kinshasa Gombé, Democratic Republic of Congo; Fax : (+243) 880 55 21
· Minister of Human Rights, Ministry of Human Rights ; Fax : (+243) 12 20 664
Please also write to the diplomatic representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo in your country.
Geneva, 10 June 2002.
Arbitrary arrest/ Incommunicado detention
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Brief description of the facts
The International Secretariat of OMCT was informed by La Voix des Sans-Voix pour les droits de l'homme, VSV, a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest and detention of Mr. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula, the chief of the sports and leisure division of the Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mr. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula was apprehended on 22nd May 2002 at Lubumbashi by the National Information Agency (l'Agence nationale de Renseignements, ANR) and placed in detention at the provincial directorate of the ANR/Lubumbashi. On 25th May 2002, he was transferred to Kinshasa without his family’s knowledge and placed in detention in a cell at ANR/Roi Baudouin (ex-Lemera) in Kinshasa/Gombe. Since then, his relatives and friends in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi have not received any news of his condition.
M. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula was blamed for having allowed supporters of the Tout-puissant Mazembe football team to wear T-shirts baring the image of the Congolese businessman Raphaël Katebe Katoto, a presidential candidate during the transition. The latter was also Vice-president of the Alliance to Safeguard Inter-Congolese Dialogue (l'Alliance pour la Sauvegarde du Dialogue intercongolais, ASD), Director of Material Resources, and President of the political movement “Dynamique pour la Transition Neutre (DPTN).”
It is thought that Mr. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula was a victim of abuse in the ANR/Katanga. OMCT expresses its grave concern about his physical and psychological integrity in view of the fact that persons detained at the ANR/Roi Baudouin prison are frequently subjected to torture.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo urging them to:
1. take all necessary measures in order to safeguard the physical and psychological integrity of M. Edouard Kayimbo Sasula;
2. guarantee his right to meet with his family and/or lawyers as soon as possible;
3. order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
4. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights laws and standards.
Adresses
· H.E. President Joseph Kabila. Presidency of the Republic, Kinshasa-Ngaliema, Democratic Republic of Congo; Fax (+ 243) 880 02 120
· Minister of Interior, Ministry of Interior, Fax : +243 88 02 042, E-mail : djo@ic.cd
· Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, BP 3137, Kinshasa Gombé, Democratic Republic of Congo; Fax : (+243) 880 55 21
· Minister of Human Rights, Ministry of Human Rights ; Fax : (+243) 12 20 664
Please also write to the diplomatic representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo in your country.
Geneva, 10 June 2002.