On December 15, the Congolese government freed 156 prisoners

On December 15, the Congolese government freed 156 prisoners. Among them were activists of the opposition party, Parti Lumumbiste Unifie (PALU), members of the Union pour la Democraties et le Progres Sociale (UDPS), and members of the Kingdom of Congo. The move had been originally timed for the 51st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, as part of an initiative to improve human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The members of the Kingdom of Congo were arrested over a year ago, when their leader, the self-proclaimed King of Congo, Bernard Mizele, called for the secession of three of Congo's 11 provinces. Mizele, who was not among those released, was sentenced to 20 years in jail and 9 of his followers were condemned to death. A government official said more detainees would be freed. "This is part of the first group, others will be liberated in the coming days,'' he said.