A sharp rise in death sentences in the Democratic Republic of Congo has triggered alarm, following the lifting of a long-standing execution moratorium, a new report said Tuesday.
The country ended its de facto suspension of capital punishment in 2024, overturning a policy that had quietly halted executions for over two decades.
Since then, courts have issued more than 480 death sentences in 2024 and 344 in 2025, compared with 122 in 2023, according to the report by Together Against the Death Penalty and Congolese NGOs.
Human rights monitors warn of a growing atmosphere of dread, even though no executions have been officially confirmed since the policy shift.
An investigative mission spanning 11 months examined roughly 20 prisons and detention sites across the country.
It found at least 950 inmates currently on death row, nearly double the number recorded in 2019.
Prison conditions were described as overcrowded and crumbling, with detainees facing severe shortages of food, medicine, and sanitation.
Some prisoners reportedly remain unaware of their death sentences, trapped in silence behind decaying walls.
The report says death sentences are often issued after swift trials with limited legal defence or due process guarantees.
It further criticises a judicial system described as opaque, vulnerable to influence, and lacking accessible appeals for many defendants.
Investigators also noted frequent use of broadly defined charges such as criminal association in capital convictions.
Rights advocates argue these trends reflect deep structural weaknesses in the justice system and growing political pressure within courts.