Dozens of people have been sentenced to death by UN experts for their killings

DAKAR (Reuters) – About 50 people were sentenced to death on Saturday in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2017 for the killings of UN expert Zaida Catalan and Michael Sharp (OTC 🙂 (OTC :), a UN defense lawyer. he said.

A local immigration official was sentenced to 10 years in prison by an army colonel who was sentenced to death, while Tresor Kabangu, who represented several defendants in the trial, said. Congo has imposed a moratorium on the death penalty since 2003, so that convicts will serve their life sentences.

But Congolese Human Rights Watch chief investigator Thomas Fessy and Catalan’s sister said the investigators ignored the potential involvement of senior officials and that the trial did not reveal the truth.

Catalan, Swedish, and Sharp, American, were investigating violence between government forces and militia in the central Kasai region in March 2017 when gunmen stopped them on the road, went to a field and executed them.

Congolese officials have blamed Kamuina Nsapu militia for the killings. They initially denied any involvement with state agents but later arrested several other officials who said they were working with the colonel and rebels.

After a nearly five-year trial after repeated delays and the deaths of several defendants, a military court in the city of Kananga handed down a verdict on Saturday.

Among those sentenced to death was Thomas Nkashama, a local immigration official who met with Catalan and Sharp the day before their mission, Kabanguk told Reuters. Others were alleged members of the militia.

Colonel Jean de Dieu Mambweni, who also met with Catalan and Sharp before the mission, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Kabangu said.

Some of the defendants were tried in absentia because they were never arrested or escaped from custody.

Catalan’s sister, Elisabeth Morseby, said after the verdict that the testimony of the case was of uncertain reliability given the length of time the defendants spent together in prison, and said Mambweni’s conviction was a smoke curve.

“In order for the truth to emerge, all suspects, including those at the top of the hierarchy, must be questioned, and that has not yet been done,” he told Reuters.

The Congolese military chief prosecutor was not immediately available for comment. The prosecutor previously said they were following up on the evidence available.

Fessy said there are still more questions than answers after the verdict.

“Investigations and, ultimately, this trial have not been able to uncover the full truth about what happened. Congolese authorities, with the help of the UN, should now investigate the critical role that high-ranking officials may play in the killings,” he said.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde (NYSE 🙂 echoed that call on Twitter (NYSE :): “It is important that investigations into others involved continue to uncover more truth and bring justice. We encourage Congolese authorities to cooperate fully with the UN mechanism.”