DR CONGO MURDER APPEAL MARRED BY RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the appeal trial of four men sentenced to death for a Congolese journalist's murder lacked "protection of the defendants' most basic rights," local and international rights groups charged. The accusations involve the case over the murder of Serge Maheshe, a 31 year old reporter with UN-backed Radio Okapi. "The military court trial and the appeals process have been marred by inadequate protection of the defendants' most basic rights," a coalition of rights organisations said in a joint statement. Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the trial had been "characterised by intimidation, injustice and a failure to establish the truth of what happened." The military tribunal in the eastern town of Bukavu sentenced Freddy Bisimwa and Masalile Rwezangabo to death in August 2007 for the murder of Maheshe. On the basis of statements from the two suspected killers, the court also handed down death sentences to Serge Mohima and Alain Mulumbi Shamavu, friends of Maheshe who witnessed his murder and were then accused of ordering it. The two suspected killers later retracted their confessions. A military appeals court finished three months of hearings into the case last week and is expected to issue a verdict on Wednesday. Congolese and international observers also received death threats during the hearings, according to the rights groups.