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DR CONGO: 'REBEL LEADER' GIVEN DEATH SENTENCE
March 3, 2010: a military court in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, sentenced Firmin Yangambi, 41, to death for trying to "organise a rebel movement" against President Joseph Kabila. Yangambi's rights group, "Peace on Earth" are accused of possessing weapons and building a rebel movement in Kisangani, northeastern DR Congo. "It is a political affair. But it is God who will have the last word", the accused said.
Yangambi's lawyer said they would launch an appeal.
In 2006 Yangambi had expressed his intention to run in the presidential election, but did not pay the necessary $50 000 required to become a candidate.
The death penalty is no longer applied in the country and is usually commuted to a life sentence. (Sources: Agence France Presse, 03/02/2010)
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