DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: ILAAD BRINGS THE ARBITRARY DETENTION OF MR. SAFARI BISHORI TO THE UNITED NATIONS

The International League Against Arbitrary Detention (ILAAD) have submitted an urgent complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on behalf of Luc SAFARI BISHORI.

CONGOLESE NATIONAL ARRESTED WITHOUT A WARRANT AND DETAINED INCOMMUNICADO

This action concerns the arbitrary detention Mr. SAFARI BISHORI in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr. SAFARI BISHORI, a teacher at the Great Lakes Management Institute in Goma, is the co-founder of the Popular Self-Defense Movement (MPA) and a former candidate for provincial legislative deputy in 2018.

On 20 December 2023, Mr. SAFARI BISHORI was arrested during a mediation meeting with the VDP (Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland/Wazalendo) group in the village of Kisharo in North Kivu, by members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR-RUD) wearing Democratic Republic of Congo Armed Forces (FARDC) uniforms. Following his arrest, Mr. SAFARI BISHORI was held incommunicado for more than 216 days, during which time he was tortured and transferred to various detention centers.

WRONGFULLY CONVICTED TO DEATH BY A MILITARY TRIBUNAL

On August 8, 2024, following a political trial held without procedural guarantees and in the presence of the Ministry of Justice, the Military Court of Kinshasa-Gombe found him guilty of treason and participation in an insurrectionary movement and sentenced him to death. This judgment was upheld on appeal, and Mr. SAFARI BISHORI appealed to the Court of Cassation and remains on death row awaiting a hearing date.

As of the date of this complaint, nearly 300 death sentences have been handed down by military courts in violation of the DRC's international commitments. The continued imposition of martial law has been accompanied by a worsening of human rights violations, including an increase in arbitrary arrests and cases of torture and ill-treatment committed in places of detention that are not subject to any judicial oversight. The authoritarian drift intensified in March 2024, when the government announced the resumption of capital punishment after a moratorium of more than 20 years. The applicant's situation is therefore part of a systemic government practice of arbitrary detention and death sentences handed down by military courts.

ACTIONS REQUESTED TO THE UN WORKING GROUP AGAINST ARBITRARY DETENTION

In these circumstances, ILAAD respectfully requested that the Working Group render an opinion finding the deprivation of liberty against the victim to be arbitrary and falling within category I and III and:

Under the urgent procedure:

• request the Democratic Republic of Congo to take appropriate measures to guarantee Mr. SAFARI BISHORI's right to life;

• request the Government to release him immediately and unconditionally, and to ensure that he receives the necessary medical care;

• refer the present case to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, and the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

Under the ordinary complaint procedure:

• to request the Democratic Republic of Congo to take all necessary measures to remedy Mr. SAFARI BISHORI's situation without delay and to bring it into conformity with the relevant international human rights standards;

• to consider that, given all the circumstances of the case, the appropriate reparation consists of the immediate release of Mr. SAFARI BISHORI and the recognition of his right to obtain redress, including in the form of adequate compensation, in accordance with international human rights law;

• to recommend to the Democratic Republic of the Congo that it ensure that a thorough, independent, and impartial investigation is conducted into the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary detention of Mr. SAFARI BISHORI, and to take appropriate measures to remedy the situation without delay and bring it into line with the relevant international human rights standards; independent, and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary detention of Mr. SAFARI BISHORI, and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for these violations;

• to request the Democratic Republic of Congo to widely disseminate this opinion of the Working Group in order to prevent the recurrence of such violations and to strengthen effective respect for fundamental guarantees of freedom and justice.