DR Congo: Martial Law Brings Crackdown in East

Jean Paul Ngahangondi, a provincial deputy for North Kivu, has been detained since February 6, 2022, for "contempt" of the head of state and the army: "After my arrest, I was taken to the ANR (National Intelligence Agency), where the agents told me that I had been arrested for questioning martial law. The prosecutor was clear when he told me that they have no problem with me but that they received a complaint from the governor who said that I was to be questioned and that there are others who are to be questioned. This is a way to intimidate and silence us." © Private

Didier Lukogho, a provincial deputy from Lubero in North Kivu, has been detained since November 21, 2021, for "incitement to attack the laws of the republic": "I consider my arrest to be arbitrary. Today, instead of benefiting from martial law, we are its victims. I was arrested and accused of having held a meeting." © Private

From right to left: Jeanpy Lufungula Muhindo, Esaïe Liko, Kabunga Joël, Eric Sankara (an accused from a different trial), and Kighama Dieu-merci. Eddy Mupika, Pamela Shabani, Kabambi Jireh, Georges Mumbere, Paluku Vihamba, Lwantumba Elysé, Archimede Ependa, Dimanja Dany, were also present in the court, but are not in the first row of the photograph. The 13 activists of the citizen movement Lucha were arrested on November 11, 2021 and are charged with "provocation and incitement to breaches of public authority.” If found guilty they face sentences of between one and three years. © Private

Three activists of the citizen movement Jicho la Raia: Faustin Ombeni Tulinabo, Claude Lwaboshi Buhazi, and Serge Mikindo Waso were sentenced by a military court in Goma on February 25, 2022 to two years in prison for "damaging imputation and slanderous denunciation" after denouncing mismanagement in a health zone in Masisi in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Claude Lwaboshi, 32, and father of three children, is a member of Jicho la Raia: “Our trial began seven months after the fixing of our case at the court because of confusion in the military judicial administration during martial law. The procedure has dragged on a lot." © Private

Three activists of the citizen movement Jicho la Raia: Faustin Ombeni Tulinabo, Claude Lwaboshi Buhazi, and Serge Mikindo Waso were sentenced by a military court in Goma on February 25, 2022 to two years in prison for "damaging imputation and slanderous denunciation" after denouncing mismanagement in a health zone in Masisi in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Serge Muhindo, 33, is a member of Jicho la Raia: "I think that keeping us in prison is a way to silence us and silence others." © Private

Three activists of the citizen movement Jicho la Raia: Faustin Ombeni Tulinabo, Claude Lwaboshi Buhazi, and Serge Mikindo Waso were sentenced by a military court in Goma on February 25, 2022 to two years in prison for "damaging imputation and slanderous denunciation" after denouncing mismanagement in a health zone in Masisi in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Faustin Ombeni Tulinabo, 26, is a member of Jicho la Raia: "I am a student. I have lost one year already, and I risk losing another because of delays. It hurts me a lot to think of all the time I’ve lost." © Private

Luc Malembe, 34, is a freelance journalist from Lamuka at Bunia in Ituri. He has been detained since November 24, 2021, for “spreading false information”: "I have been very critical of martial law from the start and now I am being prosecuted for “spreading rumors.” The public prosecutor has requested three years in prison, and I am awaiting the verdict. I am scared because the judicial system is not independent and because the governor ordered my arrest and controls justice. I fear I will be wrongly condemned. I work for a private company, and I lost my job, which will be a problem for my wife and kids." © Private

Christophe Adubango, 29, is a civil society leader from Bunia in Ituri province, who has been detained since October 24, 2021, for “spreading false information”: "Soldiers took me to the Governor's Residence where they tortured me. They kicked me with their boots, and they beat me with guns. I bled in my nose and mouth, and I had pain everywhere. I was at the o the military prosecutor's office the next morning and then transferred to the central prison where two days later I became sick. My lungs became affected when I was beaten. My case in court is not progressing, and when I ask my lawyer, he tells me that the judges told him that for my case, they have to wait for the governor's order to set the date." © Private

DR Congo: Martial Law Brings Crackdown in East

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