A prominent human rights group on Tuesday has called the conviction and sentencing of former militia leader Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka and two others in the Democratic Republic of Congo an "important step" towards fighting impunity in the African country
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) A prominent human rights group on Tuesday has called the conviction and sentencing of former militia leader Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka and two others in the Democratic Republic of Congo an "important step" towards fighting impunity in the African country.
On Monday, a military court in the city of Goma found Sheka guilty of seven counts of war crimes relating to atrocities conducted from 2010 to 2014, which included slavery, murder, mass rape, and the recruitment of child soldiers. The militia leader was sentenced to life imprisonment.
"Sheka's conviction and life sentence is an important step in the fight against impunity in Congo and a testament to the work of survivors and activists who took great personal risks in the pursuit of justice," Thomas Fessy, senior Congo researcher for Human Rights Watch, said in a press release.
Two other militia figures, Jean Claude Lukambo and Seraphin Nzitonda, were sentenced to 15 years and life imprisonment, respectively, according to the rights group.
"Congolese courts are delivering an increasing number of important verdicts, but efforts for domestic accountability should be dramatically strengthened, with reforms and international support, to end decades of impunity for mass atrocities in Congo," Fessy added.
Sheka was one of the leaders of the Nduma Defense of Congo militia group, which operated in the northeastern part of the country during the so-called Kivu conflict.
A warrant for Sheka's arrest was first issued in 2011 following a series of attacks that saw the NDC and other militia groups allegedly rape nearly 400 people during a four-day spell in summer 2010.
