Reprieve is calling on the British government to make urgent representations to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to stop the illegal raids of the prison in which Briton Joshua French and his co-defendant Tjostolv Moland are held.
The two prisoners have reported that gangs dressed as UN authorities -- but refusing to provide requisite identification -- entered Kisangani Central Prison and, after threatening prisoners with violence and execution, proceeded to steal money, food, electronic equipment and tobacco from their cells and ransack what was left.
Reprieve calls on the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to:
• Ensure the safety of Joshua French immediately
• Demand that Joshua French is moved from the remote Kisangani Central Prison to a safer prison in the capital Kinshasa
• Seek immediate assurance from the DRC government that the death threats made to Joshua French are not carried out by the DRC military
• Demand that Joshua French is moved from the remote Kisangani Central Prison to a safer prison in the capital Kinshasa
• Seek immediate assurance from the DRC government that the death threats made to Joshua French are not carried out by the DRC military
• Seek answers from the UN on the purported raid
