DR CONGO: Torture Incident in Ituri (11 October 2005)

Summary: Three volunteer field workers from the RFC Victims centre in bunia, DR Congo, were tortured and killed by Congolese security forces. A fourth field worker was also tortured but managed to escape and has now gone into hiding.

In August, three women volunteer field workers from the RFC Victims centre in bunia, DR Congo, were tortured and killed by 
Congolese security forces. A fourth field worker was also  tortured but managed to escape and has now gone into hiding. 
The four field workers were carrying out their normal duties of transporting torture victims from the North center to hospital 
for medical treatment, when their vehicle was stopped and surrounded by security forces in plain clothes. They were 
taken to a military vehicle and badly tortured. Three of the field workers were then lined up by the side of the road and 
shot in the head. The fourth, the only witness to the executions, managed to escape and is now in hiding in a local 
village in fear for his life.

Prior to this incident the centre had been accepted by all parties in ituri as a neutral humanitarian organisation doing 
a much needed job; that is, tending to the many thousands of people who have been tortured during the ongoing civil unrest 
in the province. The centre has collaborated closely with local authorities, and had organised training activities for 
local police and military personnel on the nature of the activities and of the right, under international law, for 
torture victims to receive proper medical treatment and care.

These tragic events indicate a rapid deterioration in the security situation in ituri. The RFC calls on the Congolese Government to take immediate and thorough action to guarantee the safety of human rights 
defenders in ituri and of victims of torture at risk. In particular, the RFC calls on Congolese Government to ensure 
that the two field workers at immediate risk are protected from further attack and guaranteed safe refuge.

It is intolerable that human rights workers - in this case young volunteers - working to ameliorate the effects of 
torture have themselves become targets for torture and execution.