AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: DRC: Fears for missing political opponent in DRC: Diomi Ndongala/URGENT ACTION

URGENT ACTION

FEARS FOR MISSING POLITICAL OPPONENT IN DRC

A prominent Congolese political opponent, Diomi Ndongala, went missing in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 27 June. He is reportedly detained incommunicado by the intelligence services in Kinshasa.

Diomi Ndongala is a member of parliament and head of the political party Démocratie Chrétienne (DC)  At around 11.30 am on 27 June, he left his house in his car (a white Mitsubishi with tinted windows) to attend an event organized by his political party at the Cathedral Notre Dame du Congo in Kinshasa. At the event, he was supposed to officially sign a Charter “la plateforme de la majorité présidentielle populaire”, which would have established a coalition with other political parties. Diomi Ndongala never reached the Cathedral and nobody, including his family, has seen or heard from him since.

On 28 June, a government spokesperson announced that an important figure of the opposition had been arrested on charges of rape. The same day, the General Prosecutor stated that Diomi Ndongala had fled after an arrest warrant had been issued against him for the rape of two minors. Since this statement, the Congolese authorities have denied detaining Diomi Ndongala.

Recent information has revealed that Diomi Ndongala is being detained incommunicado by the intelligence services in Kinshasa. According to several sources, he was first located at the Tchatchi military camp and then at the 3rd Directorate of the ANR (National Intelligence Services) in Kinshasa, where he was reportedly detained until 2 August. According to other sources, he was seen around 16 August at the Cité de l’OUA, a complex owned by the Presidency. According to these sources, Diomi Ndongala is in poor health and has lost a lot of weight due to a lack of food and being denied treatment for his chronic medical conditions.

Despite a complaint by his relatives and lawyer, they have not received any answer from the General Prosecutor or the Congolese government regarding the whereabouts of Diomi Ndongala or his current state of health.

Please write immediately in French or your own language:

Urging the Congolese authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Diomi Ndongala;

Urging the Congolese authorities to immediately give Diomi Ndongala access to any medical care he requires;

Urging the Congolese authorities to immediately provide Diomi Ndongala access to his relatives and lawyers;

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 4 OCTOBER 2012:

�

President

Son Excellence Joseph Kabila

Président de la République

Palais de la Nation

Avenue de Lemera, Kinshasa-Gombe,

Democratic Republic of Congo

Email: cabinet_president@yahoo.fr

Salutation: Dear President /Votre Excellence Monsieur le Président

Minister of Justice

Mme Wivine Mumba Matipa

Ministère de la Justice

228 Avenue de Lemera

BP 3137

Kinshasa-Gombe

Democratic Republic of Congo

Salutation: Dear Minister/Madame la Ministre

�

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:

Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

�

URGENT ACTION

FEARS FOR MISSING POLITICAL OPPONENT IN DRC

ADditional Information

Diomi Ndangala is 50 years old. He has four children. He is a prominent political figure in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Under the government of President Mobutu Sese Seko, he was Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance before deciding to start his own political party. As a national MP, there are certain conditions that regulate any prosecution or arrest. According to article 107 of the Constitution of the DRC and article 89 of the Internal rules of the National Assembly, “an MP can be arrested only with the preliminary authorisation of the National Assembly or the Senate cabinet except if the person has been caught red-handed, the prosecution is authorised or in case of final sentence”. In this case, none of these conditions has been respected.

In the past, he has been arrested and tortured several times by the security forces due to his political activities. In 1998, Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action calling for his immediate release while he was arbitrarily detained by the military police in Kinshasa. See UA 04/98, AI Index: AFR 62/02/98, http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR62/002/1998/en

Name: Diomi Ndangala

Gender m/f: Male

�

UA: 246/12 Index: AFR 62/010/2012 Issue Date: 23 August 2012

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR62/010/2012/en/ee8c876e-2392-40ba-8866-af4938167754/afr620102012en.html