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The Ruzizi Plain is situated in South Kivu Province and borders on Burundi. A conflict has raged for many years between the two ethnic groups that populate the plain, the Bafuliro and the Barundi, due to land-holding, economic and political rivalries. The local civilian populations endure regular waves of attacks and serious crimes, while the State authorities have n...

The case of seven women whose rapists were convicted in 2011 epitomizes the gap between a guilty verdict and truly satisfying, restorative justice. In the summer of 2009, the Congolese army launched “Operation Kimia II” in South Kivu, aiming to track down members of the non-state armed group FDLR. An army battalion was deployed in the town of Mulenge and by mid- A...

In early January 2011, a simple fight between two men in Fizi (South Kivu Province) degenerated when a group of soldiers belonging to the Congolese army launched an offensive against the civilian population. Several tens of victims reported acts of rape, pillage and murder. Thirteen months later, nine soldiers – of whom Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware was the ma...

On the fringe of an operation by the Congolese army in the village of Kibungwe (South Kivu Province) in February 2010, Lieutenant Colonel Djela Felix and his men killed two people and raped a woman. Their trial was held in 2013 before the South Kivu Military Court. Djela was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crimes committed, and the Congolese State was consi...

In September 2013, in the village of Mukoloka in Shabunda Territory (South Kivu Province), Army Corporal Bolingo Katutsi forced open the door of the house where W. and E. lived, and raped them using his rifle. One of the two women had given birth just two weeks earlier, and her child was injured at the time the crimes were committed, dying a few months later. The...

W. G. was a senior officer of the Afghan army and belonged to both the Presidential Guard and the Kabul Garrison (KHAD – the security and intelligence agency). In his 15 years of service, he particularly fought the Mujahideen and was involved in the arrest of prisoners of war. Several NGOs accused KHAD of systematically using torture. On June 16, 2005, the Swiss A...

Among other positions, Mr M. G., of Somalian nationality, was the President of the Somali High Court from 1971 until the demise of Siad Barré’s government on January 26, 1991. During his mandate, several death sentences were imposed and political opponents were severely repressed. For example, a Minister, a senior official and 11 demonstrators who had organized strik...

Suspect X. After his involvement in the coup d’état on January 12, 1992, X., of Algerian nationality, held important positions in the Algerian government until 1994. In that period, people suspected of being Islamist supporters or activists were the victims of violent repression (torture, enforced disappearance, etc.). On November 10, 2004, TRIAL filed a report of...

Radomir Šušnjar, otherwise known as “Lalco”, is accused by several Bosnian and Serbian witnesses of being involved in the murders of 59 Bosniaks, who were burnt alive in Visegrad during the conflict. In June 1992, approximately 70 people – mostly women, children and elderly persons – were locked up in a room of a house. The building was set on fire and, despite trying...