THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CONGOLESE JOURNALIST'S MURDER

a military appeals court in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo town of Bukavu sentenced three men to death for the murder of a Congolese journalist and acquitted two others in a case that sparked accusations of rights abuses. A military tribunal sentenced Freddy Bisimwa and Mugisho Mastakila to death in August 2007 for the murder of Serge Maheshe, 31, a reporter with UN-backed Radio Okapi. On the basis of statements from the two suspected killers, the court also handed down death sentences to Serge Mohima and Alain Mulimbi Shamavu, friends of Maheshe who witnessed his murder and were then accused of ordering it. The two suspected killers later retracted their confessions, and the UN mission in the DR Congo denounced the court for serious rights violations in the trial. The appeals court upheld the death sentences for the suspected killers, while acquitting Maheshe's two friends, saying there was no proof they were involved. It also convicted the two presumed killers on charges of murder related to theft rather than the previous charge of assassination. A third person, Patient Bisimwa, suspected of being an accomplice to the two convicted killers, was also given a death sentence. Rights activists said that the proceedings were marred by abuses. Donat M'Baya, head of local organisation Journalist in Danger, spoke of "innumerable violations of the defence's rights". In its previous criticism of the earlier trial, the UN said every stage was flawed by "many and serious violations of the basic rights to a fair trial."