Assassination suspects on hunger strike

Twelve suspects jailed in connection with the assassination of former president Laurent-Desire Kabila have been on hunger strike for a week to proclaim their innocence, the Associated Press (AP) reported, quoting the men’s wives. “Our husbands will not eat until they are freed,” one woman told journalists in Kinshasa. According to AP, 11 of the hunger strikers were soldiers in the army of the late president Mobutu Sese Seko and the 12th a diplomat. “They were reportedly singled out because they come from northern and eastern Congo”, AP quoted the president of the International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association in Kinshasa, Marie Eley Lofele, as saying.

The association sponsored the press conference. Lofele insisted the 12 men were innocent and demanded that the government make public the allegations against them and put them on public trial. The authorities say 104 of 155 people questioned in connection with the killing remain in custody including soldiers, officials close to the late president and their families. It is not clear when, or if, criminal proceedings against any of the suspects will take place, AP added.