A total of 169 prisoners escaped from pitiful prison circumstances in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo during a hearing inside the prison, BBC reports.
The hearing of 60 cases was held in an overcrowded room with only two guards. During the second case the crowd started to throw stones and didn’t stop until they broke through the prison gates.
Harsh prison conditions caused the prisoners to breakout.
A report from the Institute of War & Peace Reporting from 2007, described conditions in Munzenze Prison in grim terms:
“Prisoners sleep on the damp ground in dark, crowded rooms off a central courtyard. The smell of urine is pervasive. There are only a handful of blankets and mattresses provided by family members who also bring in food.”
According to Francis Wombali, not only are prison conditions deplorable but the whole judicial system needs improvement. The goal of the hearing was to clear a backlog of trials, reported BBC.
The U.N. has recently answered the call of the Justice minister of DR Congo to help improve conditions.
The BBC reported that only a handful of prisoners have been recaptured.
The hearing of 60 cases was held in an overcrowded room with only two guards. During the second case the crowd started to throw stones and didn’t stop until they broke through the prison gates.
Harsh prison conditions caused the prisoners to breakout.
A report from the Institute of War & Peace Reporting from 2007, described conditions in Munzenze Prison in grim terms:
“Prisoners sleep on the damp ground in dark, crowded rooms off a central courtyard. The smell of urine is pervasive. There are only a handful of blankets and mattresses provided by family members who also bring in food.”
According to Francis Wombali, not only are prison conditions deplorable but the whole judicial system needs improvement. The goal of the hearing was to clear a backlog of trials, reported BBC.
The U.N. has recently answered the call of the Justice minister of DR Congo to help improve conditions.
The BBC reported that only a handful of prisoners have been recaptured.
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