BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo
A regional court in the Democratic Republic of Congo sentenced 46 defendants to prison for sexual assault and rape on Thursday, judicial sources said.
The court handed down sentences of seven to 15 years after a public hearing that lasted 20 days. Those sentenced were convicted of various sex crimes in the Bunia region in 2014 and 2015.
The court said “this trial shows DRC’s commitment to fighting sexual violence.”
More than 500,000 women have been subject to sexual violence by armed groups in the DRC’s eastern and southeastern regions since 1996, the UN said.
From 2003 to 2006, when DRC was dominated by instability, sexual violence and rape were used as a “weapon of war.”
