Kisangani, 16 May 2011 - In Province Orientale's territory of Opala, district of Tshopo, nine Congolese police officers were condemned to jail terms ranging from twelve months to life imprisonment, after a military court found them guilt of crimes against humanity including mass rape, looting and destruction of civilian property.

The nine defendants, including two condemned in absentia, were on trial from 9 to 14 May to answer to charges of rape, arbitrary arrest and detention. The trial was made possible thanks to the financial and logistical support of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).

Six of the defendants, including the two fugitives, were sentenced to life imprisonment, and discharged from the police force. Two other officers were also sacked, and punished with a 30-year prison term each for arbitrary arrest and looting. The ninth defendant was the local police chief, who received a 12-month suspended sentence.

The incriminated acts date back from December 2010, when a national police team was deployed in the area to quell a row over the use of dug out canoes between the communities of Yambwa and Yakongolo in the territory of Opala, some 260 km south of Kisangani, the capital of Province Orientale.

During the operation, 18 women from Yakongolo were arrested, raped, and then detained for two days in Yokoko. They were later transferred to Opala before their release, following the intervention of local authorities.

It was this cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, together with the looting and destruction of civilian property that led the Opala military court to take punitive measures in line with the Congolese law.

At the end of the trial, the local authorities as well as the victims thanked MONUSCO for its facilitation in this process. "We are relieved and thankful, because without MONUSCO's support, this trial might never have taken place. This is a big step forward in the fight against sexual violence in our territory," Ms. Josée Akoka, Opala Territory Deputy Administrator for Economy and Finance, said.

Codjo Houegniglo/ MONUSCO