e-223 (Republic of Congo)

Petition to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

• Congolese democracy is in danger and is disintegrating. And for good reason, as it is led by Denis Sassou Nguesso, a general who returned to power following a civil war against the elected president;
• Mr. Sassou Nguesso recently amended the Constitution for the sole purpose of staying in an office he has already held for 32 years and changed the election timetable to the same end;
• Freedom of expression is being limited in the Republic of the Congo, to the extent that some opponents have been imprisoned while others have been hit with administrative measures that curtail their freedom;
• Again recently, his main challenger in the next presidential election of March 20, 2016, Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, was arrested and then released, but is still threatened by a justice system completely controlled by the regime in Brazzaville;
• The European Union, having found many violations of the electoral governance framework established to ensure the next presidential election is genuine and democratic, is refusing to work with the regime in Brazzaville; and
• On February 26, 2016, Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, was refused entry to Brazzaville.