Amnesty International on Tuesday called on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to halt the planned execution of 170 prisoners on death row, urging the DRC to move toward abolishing the death penalty.

Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa, stated:

We fear imminent mass executions by the authorities amid a lack of reliable information about the status of people sentenced to death. President Felix Tshisekedi must immediately, publicly and unambiguously halt any plans to execute people in Angenga prison or elsewhere. Parliament should adopt a moratorium on executions, pending full abolition of the death penalty.

The DRC announced on Sunday that more than 170 people on death row were transferred to the high-security Angenga prison to be executed. 70 inmates were transported to Angenga that day, and the other 100 had previously been moved to the prison. The prisoners are men aged 18 to 35 who were convicted of armed robbery, and they are allegedly involved with criminal gangs known as “Kulunas.”

The country’s last known civilian execution occurred in 2003. In March 2024, the government decided to reinstate capital punishment by lifting its 21-year moratorium on executions. DRC officials said that the reinstatement of the death penalty was necessary to thwart escalating violence, gang-related rebellion, and collaboration with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the country’s eastern regions.

International organizations have also condemned the conditions of prison and detention systems in the DRC. In October 2024, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk denounced the perpetration of torture and sexual abuse in the country’s detention facilities. Amnesty International also called the conditions “appalling” in its 2023 report on the DRC, stating that inmates suffered “a lack of drinking water and medicines” and that some starved to death.