DRC: Arrest and detention of RUP Leader

Case COD 311001.1
Follow-up of Case COD 311001
Incommunicado detention/Fair trial

Geneva, November 22nd, 2001

The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new
information regarding the following situation in Democratic
Republic of Congo.

New information

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by
the Comité des Observateurs des Droits de l'Homme
(CODHO), a member of the OMCT network, of the continuing
incommunicado detention of Mr. José Mafwata Shamba in
Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the information received, Mr. José Mafwata
Shamba was transferred to the ANR-Intérieur prison in
Kinshasa on November 15th. He was arrested on October 4th,
having been summoned without reason and without an arrest
warrant by members of the Détection militaire des activités anti-
patrie (military intelligence)/Department of the Interior
(DEMIAP). He was being held in the DEMIAP jail proir to
having been transferred.

According to the information received, Mr. José Mafwata
Shamba, who is the Secretary General of the Rassemblement
National Populaire (RNP) party, has not been allowed access
either to legal counsel or to his family since his detention began,
giving rise to fears that he may be being subjected to ill-
treatment or torture, which are prevalent in the DEMIAP's jails
and have even lead to deaths in detention (see Case COD
240401). Under the auspices of the Republican Pact (Pacte
Républicain), signatories, which include the Congolese
authorities, have pledged not to harass political leaders who are
engaging in their professional activities.

Mr. José Mafwata Shamba is being held despite a lack of formal
charges having been pressed against him. He is reportedly being
held because he distributed party membership cards, despite the
fact that his party has not yet been officially registered. He has
not yet been brought before a judge, and OMCT fears that he
may be detained for a lengthy period before this is the case.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is deeply concerned by
this arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention, which
appears to have been conducted primarily for political reasons,
and fears that Mr. José Mafwata Shamba may be subjected to
torture while in detention.

Brief reminder of the situation

According to information received, Mr. José Mafwata Shamba
was summoned without reason and without an arrest warrant on
4 October 2001, in the Boulevard du 30 juin in Kinshasa,
outside the "Sabena" offices by members of the Détection
militaire des activités anti-patrie (military
intelligence)/Department of the Interior (DEMIAP). He was
then held in the DEMIAP jail and has not been allowed to
receive any visitors since he was arrested.

According to information received, Mr. Shamba is the Secretary
General of the Rassemblement National Populaire (RNP) party,
the president of which, Mr. Manda Mobutu, is in exile in France.
Mr. Shamba allegedly arrived in Kinshasa on 29 September
2001, not only for family reasons, but also to undertake the
formalities required to legalise the RNP.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo
urging them to:

i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and
psychological integrity of Mr. José Mafwata Shamba;
ii. order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal
charges or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial
and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all
times;
iv. intervene with the appropriate authorities in order to secure
that Mr. José Mafwata Shamba be allowed to meet with his
relatives and lawyer;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental
freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national
laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

· President Joseph Kabila, Présidence de la République,
Kinshasa-Ngaliema, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Fax : (+243) 880 02 120

· Ministry of Justice, POB 3137, Kinshasa Gombé,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fax (+243) 880 55
21

· Ministry of Human Rights, Fax (+243) 12 20 664

Please also write to the embassies of Democratic Republic of
Congo in your respective country.

Geneva, November 22nd, 2001

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of
this appeal in your reply.
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
8 rue du Vieux-Billard
Case postale 21
CH-1211 Geneve 8
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 22 809 49 29
E-mail : [email protected]
http://www.omct.org