Case History: Jean de Dieu Mulikuza
On 21 August 2015, human rights defender Mr. Jean de Dieu Mulikuza submitted a formal complaint to the Attorney General at Bukavu Court of Appeals (Cour d'Appel de Bukavu) denouncing attempts to incriminate him in an alleged case of fraud linked to an investigation being conducted by the judicial police in Bukavu.
Jean de Dieu Mulikuza is a human rights lawyer and the current president of Acting Together to Access Human Rights (Agir Ensemble pour l'Accès aux Droits de l'Homme - ADH Asbl), a human rights organisation operating in the fields of justice and peace, with particular emphasis on collective and groups' rights, the fight against impunity and the promotion of peace in the communities.
On 21 August 2015, human rights defender Mr. Jean de Dieu Mulikuza submitted a formal complaint to the Attorney General at Bukavu Court of Appeals (Cour d'Appel de Bukavu) denouncing attempts to incriminate him in an alleged case of fraud linked to an investigation being conducted by the judicial police in Bukavu.
The complaint which Jean de Dieu Mulikuza filed before the Attorney General addressed a summons issued by the judicial police ordering him to appear before a police officer on 6 August 2015 without any specific reasons included in the summons. When he appeared before the police officer, he was informed that he was accused of smuggling goods and therefore he had to explain himself. The officer showed him an import document issued by the General Directorate of Customs and Excise (Direction générale des douanes et accises - DGDA) in which he was named as the importer of an important consignment of goods, including many which were not declared.
The human rights defender believes that this is part of a plot against him and he is adamant that the document presented by the police officer is false. He believes that the case was fabricated in order to impede his activities as a lawyer and human rights defender. Furthermore, the human rights defender is concerned that this situation is likely to jeopardize his security.
This is not the first time that ADH Asbl expresses its concern about attempts to harm its leaders. In April 2013, the organisation sent a letter to the Attorney General at the Court of Appeal denouncing a plan to assassinate a member of its board of directors. Later, the police arrested several people suspected of being behind the assassination plan.
