The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen a significant increase in death sentences since the lifting of a moratorium on executions in 2024, according to a report by a campaign group. The report found that courts sentenced over 480 people to death in 2024 and 344 in 2025, up from 122 in 2023. The report also identified at least 950 people on death row detention in Congo, compared to around 500 in 2019.
The report describes overcrowded and dilapidated prison facilities, where detainees live in conditions of extreme health and food insecurity. Death sentences are often handed down at the end of summary trials, and effective legal assistance from a lawyer is often lacking. The report warns that the multiplication of death sentences is creating an unprecedented climate of fear in the country.
The report is based on 11 months of fact-finding in around 20 prisons and detention camps by an investigative mission made up of lawyers, civil society actors, and Congolese parliamentarians. The mission found that death sentences are often handed down for vague and extendable offenses, such as association with criminals. The report also notes that the judicial system in Congo is opaque and subject to influence, making it difficult for those sentenced to death to appeal their sentences.
