Human rights defender Mr Salvator Muhindo was assassinated on the night of 29-30 June 2010 in Kalungata, in the province of Nord-Kivu. Salvator Muhindo was a member of the organisation Le Bon Samaritain (The Good Samaritan), which is based in Beni.

Further Information

According to reports, Salvator Muhindo was shot by armed men in military uniform on the night of 29-30 June 2010 at around 01:00 am at his home in Kalungata, 40 kilometers south of the town of Beni. After entering the residence where Salvator Muhindo lived with his family, the gunmen issued death threats against his wife and children, demanding that they tell them where they would find Salvator Muhindo. Given the danger to his family, Salvator Muhindo, who had been hiding when the soldiers entered his house, came out of hiding. At close range and without any warning, one of the assailants fired two bullets into his chest before leaving.

According to information collected by Congolese organisations, the killing would be linked to the fact that Salvator Muhindo and other human rights defenders mobilised to organise campaigns to boycott celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the independence of the Democratic Republic of Congo to protest against the assassination of human rights defender Floribert Chebeya Bahizire and the disappearance of Fidele Bazana Edadi on 2 June 2010.

The assassination of Salvator Muhindo follows closely that of Floribert Chebeya Bahizire. Front Line remains deeply concerned about the steadily deteriorating security situation of human rights defenders in the DRC. Front Line reiterates the repeated requests of Congolese human rights defenders and those of international human rights organisations that urgent measures be implemented to ensure the safety of human rights defenders in the country.