Netherlands: Do not return ICC witnesses at risk of death penalty, ill-treatment and unfair trials to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Amnesty International calls on the Netherlands not to return the three witnesses as they have a credible fear that they will face torture or other ill-treatment, flagrant violations of the right to a fair trial, and the imposition of the death penalty. [...] Following their testimony at the ICC in The Hague – in which they implicated DRC’s current President Joseph Kabila in allegations of crimes under international law in the DRC’s turbulent Ituri region – the detained witnesses filed for asylum in the Netherlands. [...] In 2011, the organization published a report on the justice system in the DRC, The time for justice is now: New strategy needed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,2 raising concerns about the justice system including: the dire conditions in all prisons; the lack of independence of the judiciary; endemic violations of the right to a fair trial; prolonged pre-trial detention; and insecurity in [...] In addition, the authorities in the Netherlands appear to have relied on the ICC’s preliminary assessment of the risks3 as well as diplomatic assurances given by the DRC to the ICC, but not to the government of the Netherlands itself. [...] However, the assessment by this unit also notes that neither the Registry nor the ICC have the “competency to exercise its influence on the DRC authorities management of a national detention center”.4 2. On 9 July 2011, the Trial Chamber of the ICC ruled “Article 21 (3) of the Statute does not place an obligation on the Court to ensure that States parties properly apply internationally recognized