Democratic Republic of the Congo: Human rights concerns in the run up to Presidential election campaigns

In light of these recent events, Amnesty International calls on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) authorities to protect the rights of freedom of association, assembly and expression of its population, including human rights defenders and members of the political opposition. [...] It calls on the authorities to ensure that criminal laws are not applied in breach of these rights and that anyone accused of criminal activity, including members of the opposition, receive fair trials. [...] Death threats against human rights defenders: Amnesty International is concerned about the security and the right to freedom of expression and association of human rights defenders and opposition leaders in the DRC as the country prepares to enter the pre-electoral period ahead of the November 2011 presidential elections. [...] Prominent lawyers and human rights defenders Jean-Claude Katende and Georges Kapiamba, of the Kinshasa office of the African Association for Human Rights (ASADHO), both received explicit death threats on 1 and 2 February after they held a press conference on the 1 February at which they condemned the government for its harassment and repression of members of the political opposition, citing a numb [...] On the day of the press conference, Minister of Media and Communication and government spokesperson Lambert Mende responded to the issues raised by ASADHO on Radio Okapi, a United Nations funded radio station, denying certain accusations and demanding further evidence for others.