The moratorium on the execution of the death penalty in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been lifted. The government has decided so.
"The death penalty following an irrevocable judicial conviction occurring in times of war, under a state of siege or emergency, during a policing operation aimed at maintaining or restoring public order, or during any other exceptional circumstances, will (now) be executed," announces the Minister of State for Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Rose Mutombo.
Rose Mutombo has informed, in a circular addressed to the public prosecutor's office, that the government has particularly taken into account a sad observation: "acts of treason or espionage have taken a heavy toll on both the population and the Republic in terms of the immense damages suffered" during the last thirty years while the eastern part of the DRC has been "plagued by recurring armed conflicts."
Since 2003, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, "the death penalty, although pronounced by the courts, is no longer carried out," due to the moratorium on the execution of capital punishment, decreed by the government.