A military court in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, began hearings for 63 individuals accused of serious offenses during a prison break attempt. The charges include arson, terrorism, and the rape of women, according to defense lawyer Michel Maftaa.
The defendants are linked to an attempted escape from the overcrowded Makala prison on September 2. The prison, which houses up to 15,000 inmates despite a capacity of 1,500, has been the subject of numerous complaints about poor conditions.
Witnesses reported hearing gunfire near the prison in the early hours of the escape attempt, which led to a death toll of 131, according to the government. However, the Bill Clinton Foundation for Peace disputes this, suggesting a higher number of prisoners escaped or were killed.
Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani confirmed that two people died from injuries and numerous women were raped. An official investigation is underway after calls from international bodies such as the European Union, Belgium, and France.
This is not the first major incident at Makala prison, which was severely damaged in 2017 during another large-scale escape.