Ex-Congolese rebel leader Roger Lumbala launched a hunger strike on Friday to protest his trial in Paris.
The trial, which began Wednesday, focuses on atrocities committed during the Second Congo War, spanning 1998 to 2003.
Lumbala dismissed his lawyers and refused to attend court, declaring the French judiciary lacks legitimacy over his case.
He faces charges of criminal conspiracy and complicity in crimes against humanity, with a potential life sentence looming.
A verdict is expected on December 19 at the Paris criminal court, marking a landmark case under universal jurisdiction.
The trial represents the first attempt to hold a Congolese political or military leader accountable in a national court abroad.
Congo’s eastern regions have suffered decades of deadly conflict, fuelled by over 100 active armed groups and foreign intervention.
Lumbala led the Congolese Rally for National Democracy, a rebel group backed by Uganda, accused of targeting Nande and Bambuti civilians.
U.N. reports document widespread torture, executions, sexual violence, forced labour, and slavery committed by his forces in 2002–2003.
He was arrested in Paris in 2020 and indicted in 2023, while Congo attempted extradition years earlier without addressing these war crimes.
Victim representatives describe Lumbala’s actions as deliberate attempts to delay justice and inflict further trauma on survivors.
Advocates stress the court must proceed swiftly, warning that justice delayed risks becoming justice denied after twenty years of waiting.
