 Serge Maheshe
The report concluded that the judicial process was "interspersed with several irregularities suggesting that the judiciary authorities lack the will to establish the truth" behind the June 2007 killing of Serge Maheshe, who was working for UN-sponsored Radio Okapi.
Mr. Maheshe was shot dead while entering a UN-marked vehicle in Bukavu, the capital of volatile eastern province of South Kivu. In August 2007 four civilians were initially sentenced to death on the basis of confessions, which were subsequently retracted.
Military magistrates were accused at the time of obtaining the confessions under duress, but no independent inquiry was carried out to investigate these allegations.
The report stressed that "certain violations noticed in the Maheshe case are frequently observed in other trials before military courts."
The report on the trial " produced jointly by the UN mission in DRC (MONUC) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) " noted that the guarantees for a just and fair trial were not respected by the South Kivu Military Court.
It spotlighted the court"s refusal to investigate other credible leads and motives likely to shed more light on the murder among the persistent inadequacies in the criminal inquiry.
In addition, the report underscored the absence of an independent and impartial inquiry into subornation charges brought against two military magistrates and a climate of intimidation and threats against the defence lawyers among the barriers to a fair process.
Echoing the report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged the Government "to guarantee the protection of lawyers and human rights defenders, including journalists, to allow them to perform freely their duty, without risk of interference, discrimination, threat or reprisal."
Ms. Pillay also called on the international community to help strengthen technical and logistical support to the Congolese judicial institutions and reinforce resources for all the members of the judiciary, civilian and military.
"We all must pursue, with the Congolese political and judiciary authorities, the independence and integrity of justice, the strict compliance with the principle of the right to a fair trial," said Ms. Pillay, highlighting the need to adopt "a law for the protection of human rights defenders, including journalists, that complies with relevant international norms."
Source: UN News
Global 
-
Visiting Ramallah today where he witnessed the challenges Palestinians face first-hand, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his commitment to help the Israeli and Palestinian sides reach a settlement in the next two years. more
-
A student beaten by pro-Taliban radicals at a Pakistani university earlier this week has died of his injuries. more
-
Around 2,000 protesters in Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad demanded the resignations of their governor and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today. But the demonstration was far smaller than the 12,000-strong protest that shook the Kremlin in January, a sign the authorities have stalled the ... more
-
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to Nepal's former prime minister and head of the Nepali Congress party Girija Prasad Koirala, calling his death a “huge loss” both for the country and for its peace process, which ended a decade-long civil war. more
-
In Qinghai pro-Dalai Lama leaflets are distributed, the police occupy the nearby monastery and arrest three monks at random. Secondary school students in Gansu praise the Dalai Lama, the police arrest at least 20 young people. more
-
In a video message on the occasion of Nowruz, the U.S. president stresses that the policy of a "helping hand" is always valid, even if Iran has chosen “isolation". He hopes for more cultural and educational exchanges between young Iranians and Americans, and free internet access. more
-
The program is run by Caritas and the Philippines Association of lay Dominicans. Since 1976, over 10 thousand prisoners have been reintegrated into society through training and psychological and spiritual help inside and outside prison. more
-
In a Letter to the Catholics of Ireland, Benedict XVI returns to openly confront the issue of paedophile priests, who must also go before the courts. "Shame and remorse" for what happened. Critical of the bishops who failed to safeguard, instead suppressed and concealed. He reminds victims that ... more
-
In the church of the Holy Cross, a parish in the capital, over 120 children have prayed and meditated on the themes of "sacrifice, service and growth in spiritual life." A seminar in the Lenten season to "welcome and celebrate the risen Christ." Local priests: the children learn the value of the ... more
Comments
|
|
RSS