Front Line is concerned following reports of continued judicial harassment of human rights defenders, Messrs Nginamau Malaba, Tony Israel Kaminbaya Yambasa and Richard Kambale Ndayango. Nginamau Malaba is the president of the union committee at the Ministry for the National Economy and Commerce, Tony Israel Kaminbaya is the committee's vice-president and Richard Kambale Ndayango is a member of the committee. Front Line previously issued an appeal concerning the arrest and incommunicado detention of Nginamau Malaba on 6 February 2009.

Nginamau Malaba and Richard Kambale Ndayango were arrested on 19 January 2009 by agents of the Agence National de Renseignement – ANR (National Intelligence Agency). Tony Israel Kaminbaya Yambasa had been arrested by the ANR on 15 January 2009. The three men were held in incommunicado detention in the ANR facilities in Gombe for four weeks, before being transferred to the Kinshasa central prison by order of the public prosecutor on 18 February 2009. They were accused of forging the signature of the Minister of National Economy and Commerce in an internal document.

On 25 March 2009, the three aforementioned defenders were released on bail. The public prosecutor appealed against the decision granting bail, but the decision was confirmed in appeal. One of the terms of their release was that they appear before the public prosecutor every Friday.

On 18 April 2009, the public prosecutor summoned for the three human rights defenders to appear before him. On 19 April 2009, Nginamau Malaba, Tony Israel Kaminbaya Yambasa and Richard Kambale Ndayango, accompanied by one of their lawyers, presented themselves before the prosecutor, who reportedly threatened them with re-incarceration should they continue with their trade union activities. The prosecutor also ordered that they continue to appear before him every Friday regardless of their state of health and for as long as it might take. To date, the aforementioned human rights defenders have not resumed their work as trade unionists in fear of being re-incarcerated.

Prior to their arrest in January 2009, Nginamau Malaba, Tony Israel Kaminbaya Yambasa and Richard Kambale Ndayango had denounced the misappropriation of public funds by the Minister for the National Economy and Commerce, and were calling for the rectification of these actions, including payment of employee bonuses. When transferred to prison in February 2009, they unsuccessfully complained to the Attorney General against the head of the ANR for their arrest and incommunicado detention as well as violations of their fundamental human rights.

Front Line believes that the aforementioned human rights defenders have been arrested, detained and charged because of their legitimate work in the defence of human rights, in particular their work to defend the right of workers to just and favourable remuneration. Front Line further believes that the threat of re-incarceration and the obligation to report weekly to the office of the public prosecutor aim to intimidate them and prevent them from resuming their work as trade unionists and human rights defenders.