A military court set up in Kinshasa by Kabila sentenced...

A military court set up in Kinshasa by Kabila sentenced Sammy Hachim and Khalil Algadba, two Lebanese men, to death for currency trafficking and spying for rebels holding the eastern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They were caught at the Kinshasa river port trying to smuggle four million Congolese francs to the rebel-held northeastern town of Kisangani via Brazzaville, in the Congo Republic. DRC President Laurent Kabila had ordered tough measures against the illegal currency trade, which the government labels as economic sabotage in the context of its 17-month war against the rebels, who are backed by Rwanda and Uganda. The Lebanese were the first foreigners to be sentenced to death by the military tribunal. Scores of Congolese, mostly soldiers, have been executed by firing squad following convictions by the courts. There is no appeal against sentences handed down by the military courts. Only an act of clemency by Kabila could save convicts from the firing squad.