The Beni garrison military court handed down its verdict on Monday evening, after two weeks of an intense trial in a case of collaboration with the Allied Democratic Forces. The trial marks a turning point in the fight against terrorism in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Twenty-three people received sentences ranging from five to 20 years of penal servitude. They were convicted on charges of participation in an insurrectionary movement, criminal conspiracy, as well as financing and carrying out acts of terrorism.
Civil society welcomed this decision, even though appeals remain possible.
The court’s presiding judge, Lieutenant Colonel Nyembo, recognised the severity of the sentences given, “in application of article 7 of the military criminal code.