Congo
Seen in the press
Read our selection of press reports about this country. This is a short description of prison conditions on a national scale. It gives an account of the preceding year’s events.
Democratic Republic of Congo: survivors reveal full horror of prison inferno where more than 100 women were raped and burned alive when men staged breakout
At least 153 women are believed to have died and as many as 132 were said to have been burned to death as some 4,000 incarcerated men broke out of the Munzenze prison in Goma during an assault on the city by M23 forces.Democratic Republic of Congo: hundreds of women raped and burned to death after Goma prison set on fire
Hundreds of women were raped and burned alive during the chaos after a Rwandan-backed rebel group entered the Congolese city of Goma. Women were attacked in their wing inside Goma’s Munzenze prison during a mass jailbreak, according to a senior UN official.DRC: "hell behind bars", life in Makala Prison
In attempting to describe Makala Prison - the scene of a deadly and failed breakout in the Democratic Republic of Congo - two people who have been inside used the exact same word: “hell”.“Makala is not a prison, but a detention centre resembling a concentration camp, where people are sent to die”.DRC: families demand justice amid jailbreak controversy
Families of those killed in what authorities called an attempted jailbreak in Congo’s biggest prison are demanding answers from the government as activists denounce what they say are inhumane conditions in the nation’s overcrowded penitentiaries.
DRC: psychologically, I am no longer human’ – life after 20 years on death row
On January 16, 2001, the Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent-Désiré Kabila was murdered. Under pressure to find the culprits, the police arrested members of his personal guard. Lieutenant Richard Yav was among them. Richard was tortured and sentenced to death for a crime he never committ…DRC: "psychologically, I am no longer human’ – life after 20 years on death row"
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Congo : conditions de vie terribles dans la prison de Mbujimayl
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Congo : des activistes s'insurgent contre le traitement des prisonniers au Nord-Kivu
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Congo kinshasa : Nord-Kivu, 17 détenus libérés de la prison centrale de Butembo
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
République démocratique du Congo : comment lutter contre la malnutrition et les maladies dans les prisons ?
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
République démocratique du Congo : des femmes détenues violées lors des émeutes à la prison de Lubumbashi
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
DRC: les prisons considérées comme des mouroirs
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Democratic Republic of Congo: dans les prisons surpeuplées, un risque de contaminations en chaîne
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Democratic Republic of Congo: 11 morts en une semaine dans la plus grande prison de Kinshasa
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Democratic Republic of Congo: l’évasion presque ordinaire de 105 détenus d’une prison dans le centre du pays
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Democratic Republic of Congo: à Kinshasa, onze morts dans l’enfer de la prison de Makala
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
DRC : grève suspendue à la prison centrale de Bukavu
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
RDC : le personnel de la prison de Bukavu dénonce les conditions de détention
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Democratic Republic of Congo: Kinshasa, la prison centrale de Makala en pleine modernisation
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French
Democratic Republic of Congo: la prison de Kananga évacuée le temps des travaux de réhabilitation
This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French