On April 22nd I posted an article here, where I mentioned the fact that they were going to send judges from Kinshasa. I doubted there would be enough money for that, and doubted that they would show up. And so it was! The farce goes on. Apparently the judges haven’t received salaries, and of course, the plane tickets weren’t booked. Now, the French ambassador has denied the “court” the use of the French-owned venue they used before. The venue is apparently not paid for from the last round, or was it the electric bill? Now it seems like the alternative is a garage. They are now probably going to be sentenced to death in a garage!!!
We have not received the verdict from the Supreme Court! Yesterday I read in the press that the Supreme Court has demanded 1200 USD for the convicted to get a copy of the sentence! Can you beat that!? One would think that the Supreme Court should have a clue what human rights means.
I expect a new buffoon-case in Kisangani. The prosecutor can appeal; the Supreme Court can send it back, and so on….
The Foreign Ministry has said the whole time that there must be an enforceable verdict before they can negotiate an extradition. This is a principle. If this drags out like it seems it will, it can be a very long time before that happens. It’s uncertain if the boys will live that long.
Is it really not possible for the Foreign Ministry to let humanity and human considerations come before principles when we see abuse on every level like we do in this case? If so, maybe they should reconsider some of their principles!
Knut Moland May 11th 2010
