18/03/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 18 March, the European External Action Service (EEAS) deplored the decision by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to reinstate the death penalty. “Capital punishment violates the inalienable right to life and is incompatible with human dignity. The death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime and makes any miscarriage of justice irreversible”, said EEAS lead spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy Peter Stano. Since 2003, a moratorium has commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment in the DRC. A circular signed on Wednesday 13 March by the Minister of Justice, Rose Mutombo, suspended the moratorium. As the conflict with the M23 rebels intensified in the east of the country (see EUROPE 13363/21), many people were arrested and accused of “complicity with the enemy”, AFP reported. (BD)