"Prosecutors said Davignon played a role in Lumumba's unlawful detention, transfer, and denial of an impartial trial. They also said Davignon subjected Lumumba to 'humiliating and degrading treatment.' The defendant's lawyers denied all the charges and argued that the events occurred too long ago to be prosecuted."
"Lumumba was only 35 years old when he was killed. He had risen to power when DR Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960. Just months later, he was ousted and assassinated by Belgian-backed secessionist forces in Katanga. After he was killed, his body was dissolved in acid and was never found."
"Lumumba's family lawyer described Davignon as 'a link in the chain' of a 'disastrous state-sponsored criminal enterprise.' Today, the Brussels court went beyond prosecutors' requests and had widened the trial to include Lumumba's allies Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito."
A Brussels court ordered Etienne Davignon, a 93-year-old former Belgian diplomat and European commissioner, to stand trial for war crimes connected to the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Davignon is the sole surviving defendant among ten Belgians accused by Lumumba's family of complicity in his murder. Prosecutors allege Davignon participated in Lumumba's unlawful detention, transfer, denial of fair trial, and subjected him to degrading treatment. Lumumba, only 35 years old, was killed months after DR Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960. His body was dissolved in acid and never recovered. The court expanded the trial to include Lumumba's allies Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito. If convicted, Davignon would be the first Belgian official held accountable for Lumumba's death in over six decades.
#war-crimes-trial #colonial-history #patrice-lumumba-assassination #belgian-accountability #congo-independence
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