Makala, which means “coal” in Lingala, is the central prison of Kinshasa. It is also one of Africa’s main penitentiaries: there are around 8,500 inmates in a complex of pavilions and brick and metal shacks, initially designed to accommodate 1,500 people. It is a small town, an ecosystem, where all can be valued, exchanged, and negotiated down to the floor space to sleep on. Some cells of 100 m2 house 200 inmates, many of whom sleep on the floor. They are underfed and have serious problems of malnutrition. The beatings and the ill-treatments can sometimes lead to death. The extreme overcrowding and the insecurity inevitably create conflicts which will only be handled with violence.

With the help of ASF, Désiré Loko has been released after spending exactly 8 years, 5 months and 21 days in preventive detention at Kinshasa’s central prison, even though he was innocent. His case illustrates the problem of preventive detention in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Prisoners sometimes spend years in detention without having a judge make a ruling on their fate and without access to a lawyer.

In spite of declarations in the media and the adoption of a new bill by the Council of Ministers, the current anti-drug law is now entering its 25th year. Even though it is largely considered to be unfair, ineffective and obsolete, this law continues to victimise the most vulnerable sectors of the Tunisian population. ASF is working hard to push for faster legislative reform on the issue.

In DR Congo, defending the rights of victims of injustice and exercising fundamental rights remains a challenge. Faced with an often failing legal system and, at times, intimidation, men and women are pursuing an ideal: to live in a fairer world. Last of three encounters: lawyer Hervé Mafwila, on illegal detention.

For the last two years, ASF has been working actively with the Bar Associations of the west of the DR Congo in order to combat the abusive and sometimes even illegal use of preventive detention. In the coming weeks, ASF will come back to three key aspects of this project: the development of the capacity of individuals held in detention to understand and to take action, the legal representation of detainees by specifically trained lawyers and the highlighting of the catastrophic conditions of detention, and the causes underlying the very widespread use of preventive detention.

In the current context of intense repression of political protest In Burundi, the rights of those arrested are being threatened by the practices of certain authorities. The illegal detention of a lawyer by police forces on 2 September highlights the intimidation practised with regard to these protectors of rights. ASF and the Bar Association of Bujumbura are calling on politicians and members of the judiciary to respect the constitutional principles of the country.

Brussels – On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) recalls that countless people are also victims of inhuman and degrading treatment. These practices often arise from appalling detention conditions in many countries in a post-conflict situation or in transition. ASF is calling for a reduction in the use of detention.

While the situation remains tense in Burundi, Burundian lawyers are pressing ahead with an active campaign to provide legal assistance. Mr Salvator Kiyuku, president of the bar association at Bujumbura Court of Appeal, explains the background to this operation initiated by the bar association and supported by ASF.

At the 13th United Nations Congress on Criminal Justice, held in Doha (Qatar) until 19 April, ASF will be sharing its experience in post-conflict countries and countries in transition, during 2 side-events. The first one (on 14 April) will address the role of the justice system in democracry-building in Tunisia. The second one (on 16 April) will focus on pre-trial detention.

ASF questions the legality of judicial proceedings against the journalist Bob Rugurika and his continued detention ordered by the high court of Bujumbura on 4 February 2015. ASF calls on the Burundian authorities to ensure absolute respect for the law in this case and for the fundamental rights of Mr Rugurika, director of Radio Publique Africaine.