Pretty sure.
Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala went to an event about youth and democracy last year — and never returned home.
They'd helped organized Filimbi, an event last year that brought together pro-democracy youth activists, musicians, journalists and others to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Amnesty International
Apparently, the Congolese authorities didn't like the idea of a pro-democracy forum so close to Congo's next, er, act of democracy — its presidential elections, scheduled for later this year.
President Joseph Kabila is constitutionally limited to two terms, but he wants to run for a third. The government has been cracking down on opposition leaders and even unaffiliated grassroots democracy activists across the country.
Fred and Yves were arrested with around 40 people last year. The authorities also arrested musicians from Senegal and Burkina Faso, four foreign journalists, and a US diplomat. All the foreigners were later released.
Kenny Katombe / Reuters
Fred and Yves were turned over to Congolese intelligence officers. Fred was kept for 50 days, Yves for 40, without access to lawyers, or phone calls to family — and without being charged with any crime.
Intelligence officials moved them to regular prison after nearly two months. Amnesty International ran a global campaign to protest their detention. These letters are just the ones that came to their Nairobi, Kenya office. In all, more than 170,000 messages in support of Fred and Yves made their way to Kinshasa.
Amnesty International
Eventually they were accused of plotting to overthrow the government and labeled "terrorists." They stayed in prison for more than 500 days. Until just this week.
Amnesty International
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