\n The trial of 25 people accused of being part of the M23 group began Wednesday in DR Congo, some two and a half years after the rebels began seizing large parts of the east of the country.\n<\/p>\n
\n Only five defendants were present when the trial began in a military court in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) capital Kinshasa.\n<\/p>\n
\n The main defendant, former DRC electoral commission president Corneille Nangaa, is currently on the run.\n<\/p>\n
\n Nangaa announced in December in Nairobi the creation of a political-military movement the AFC, or Alliance Fleuve Congo, an alliance of rebel groups including the M23.\n<\/p>\n
\n The justice ministry announced on Monday the opening of the \"trial of Corneille Nangaa and his accomplices\".\n<\/p>\n
\n \"This trial is part of terrorist activities, war crimes and high treason perpetrated in the eastern part of the DRC,\" the statement said.\n<\/p>\n
\n If convicted, they could face the death penalty.\n<\/p>\n
\n The defence requested an adjournment of the trial after the first suspect was questioned to allow lawyers time to read their client's files.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The time we are given is very short, in such a serious case, in which some defendants risk the death penalty,\" said one of the defence lawyers, Clement Muza Kayembe.\n<\/p>\n
\n The lawyer also spoke out about the presence of Justice Minister Constant Mutamba at the trial.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"In which country have you seen a justice minister go to hearings?\" he told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It's a moral pressure,\" he said, asking for \"equitable and not fanciful justice\" for the defendants.\n<\/p>\n
\n The list of defendants contains some of the best-known figures of the Rwanda-backed M23, including the group's president Bertrand Bisimwa, its military leader Sultani Makenga and spokespersons Willy Ngoma and Lawrence Kanyuka.\n<\/p>\n
\n Other people included on the list include members of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) who joined the AFC.\n<\/p>\n
\n The PPRD is the party of former President Joseph Kabila, who was in power from 2001 to 2019.\n<\/p>\n
\n Those not present at the trial will be judged in their absence.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Congolese authorities accuse Nangaa of being behind the bombing of a displaced persons camp last May that killed 35 people.\n<\/p>\n
\n The trial is set to resume Thursday.\n<\/p>\n
\n The M23 (\"March 23 Movement\") took up arms again at the end of 2021 and seized, with the help of the Rwandan army, large swathes of the North Kivu province.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The trial of 25 people accused of being part of the M23 group began Wednesday in DR Congo, some two and a half years after the rebels began seizing large parts of the east of the country. Only five defendants were present when the trial began in a military court in Democratic Republic of Congo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-134557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n