In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a high court has sentenced an opposition leader to seven years in prison after finding him guilty on 12 counts, including spreading untrue rumors and insulting the president.
Jean-Marc Kabund had been detained since August last year, when he was arrested for criticizing President Felix Tshisekedi and his government.
Mr Kabund is a former vice-president of the DR Congo parliament. He was also a close ally of President Tshisekedi until their fall-out in early last year.
In order to run for president in the elections in December, he formed the political party Alliance for Change.
The Court of Cassation’s decisions, which resulted in Mr. Kabund’s sentence, are final and cannot be appealed, so he will not have the chance to do so.
“This is an extremely harsh decision, especially as there is no appeal,” his lawyer Kadi Diko said after the Wednesday sentencing.
According to Reuters. Mr. Kabund received four months in prison for each of the first nine offenses and 16 months in prison for each of the last three.
Source-BBC
