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The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
France finally acts to deliver justice in infamous Dreyfus case
More than a century ago he was wrongly convicted of treason in a case that convulsed France and laid bare a rising tide of antisemitism. On Monday, French politicians took the first step towards remedying the injustice; unanimously backing a symbolic effort to promote Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish French army captain, to brigadier general. It was the beginning of bringing Dreyfus a step closer to the title he was denied, said Gabriel Attal, the former prime minister who put forward the bill. 'Accused, humiliated and condemned because he was Jewish, Alfred Dreyfus was dismissed from the army, imprisoned and exiled to Devil's Island,' Attal wrote on social media last month, referring to the infamous penal colony in French Guiana. 'Promoting Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general would constitute an act of reparation, a recognition of his merits, and a tribute to his commitment to the republic.' The roots of the case trace back to 1894, after a French counterintelligence officer found a torn-up document at the Germany embassy in Paris. As military officials scrambled to figure out who was passing military secrets to the Germans, they set their sights on Dreyfus, then a 36-year-old army captain from the Alsace region of eastern France. But Dreyfus was not the author of the note, as Charles Sitzenstuhl, a member of President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance party, told a parliamentary committee last month. He said: 'It was the antisemitism of a section of the military leadership at the time, perhaps combined with the jealousy over Dreyfus's exceptional qualities, all playing out against a backdrop of pressure from the press and nationalist and antisemitic movements, that led to him being accused without any proof and to the absurd persistence of this accusation.' Dreyfus was put on trial and convicted of treason. Publicly stripped of his rank, he was sentenced to life on Devil's Island. The case, however, was taken up by a new head of intelligence services, who noticed that the handwriting on the torn-up document matched that of another officer, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy. But when the evidence was presented to top brass the intelligence chief was driven out of the military and jailed for a year and Esterhazy was cleared. As Dreyfus languished in prison, his case began to gain traction. Author Émile Zola became one of his most ardent defenders, catapulting the case into the spotlight with the open letter, titled J'accuse, which accused the government of antisemitism and unlawful imprisonment. The case split French society into two bitterly opposed camps; the anti-Dreyfusards who were convinced of his guilt, and the Dreyfusards, who saw him as innocent. In June 1899, Dreyfus was brought back to France for a second trial. He was initially found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison, before being officially pardoned, though not cleared of the charges. It would take until 1906 for the high court of appeal to overturn the original verdict and exonerate Dreyfus. Eventually he was reinstated with the rank of major, going on to serve during the first world war. He died in 1935 at the age of 76. For years, lawmakers had batted around the idea of posthumously promoting Dreyfus, culminating in the legislation presented on Monday. 'The bill before you is the result of a unique legislative approach aimed at resolving a unique situation,' Sitzenstuhl told the National Assembly's defence committee earlier this year. 'It is a symbolic recognition of an extraordinary case, without parallel in the history of the republic.' Sitzenstuhl also suggested that Dreyfus could be entombed in the Pantheon, the Paris mausoleum reserved for France's greatest heroes. The bill now heads to the senate for debate. The legislation makes it clear that the push to properly recognise Dreyfus was also a means of highlighting that France's Jewish community – one of the largest in the world outside Israel and the US – continues to wrestle with discrimination. 'The antisemitism that struck Alfred Dreyfus is not a thing of the past,' the legislation noted, describing it as a fight that is 'still relevant today'. France has seen a rise in hate crimes: last year police recorded an 11% increase in racist, xenophobic or antireligious crimes, according to official data published in March.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Tanzania deports foreign activists supporting detained opposition leader
Tanzania's main opposition leader Tundu Lissu told his supporters to have no fear as he appeared in court on Monday on charges including treason, as President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned foreign rights activists against interference. David Doyle reports.
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
DRC's ex-president Kabila slams justice system after losing immunity
Joseph Kabila, former president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has attacked the country's justice system after the Senate voted to lift his immunity, paving the way for him to be prosecuted for alleged treason and war crimes. Kabila gave a livestreamed speech from an undisclosed location on Friday, a day after losing his immunity over alleged links to the M23 rebel group, saying that the justice system was 'an instrument of oppression for a dictatorship desperately trying to survive'. The 53-year-old, who denies supporting the Rwanda-backed rebels who have seized two major cities in the country's conflict-battered east, has been in self-imposed exile since 2023. The former president, who has repeatedly said he was returning from exile to help find a solution to the crisis, accused Kinshasa of taking 'arbitrary decisions with disconcerting levity'. Congo's Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to grant the government's request to lift the lifetime immunity Kabila – leader of the country from 2001 to 2019 – had enjoyed because of his honorific title as 'senator for life'. Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said Kabila's alleged crimes included 'treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and participation in an insurrectional movement' in the country's east. On Friday, Kabila said the DRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity were non-negotiable. 'As a soldier, I swore to defend my country to the supreme sacrifice … I remain more faithful than ever to this oath,' he said. Kabila's return to the DRC could complicate the bid to end the rebellion in the east, which contains vast supplies of critical minerals that United States President Donald Trump's administration is eager to access. Washington is pushing for a peace agreement to be signed between the DRC and Rwanda this summer, accompanied by minerals deals aimed at bringing billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, according to Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, cited by news agency Reuters.
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
DR Congo strips ex-President Kabila of immunity
The Senate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has voted overwhelmingly in favour of lifting the immunity of ex-President Joseph Kabila. In a secret ballot on Thursday night, the parliament voted by 88 votes to five to make Kabila liable for prosecution. The former head of state has been accused of treason for alleged links to the M23 armed group, which has taken control of swaths of territory in eastern DRC with the backing of Rwanda. Authorities said earlier this month that Kinshasa had amassed clear evidence implicating him in 'treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and participation in an insurrectionary movement'. Kabila, who denies any ties to the rebel group, stepped down after almost 20 years in power in 2018, yielding to protests. However, he enjoyed immunity from prosecution thanks to an honorific title as senator for life. Earlier this month, the attorney general of the Congolese army demanded that honour be lifted. 'The Senate authorises the prosecution and lifting of Joseph Kabila's immunity,' Senate speaker Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde said after the vote. Kabila has not commented on his immunity being lifted. Last year he denied allegations from his successor President Felix Tshisekedi that he was supporting the rebels and 'preparing an insurrection' in eastern DRC. Tshisekedi has in the meantime suspended Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) and security forces have raided several of the former leader's properties. PPRD Deputy Secretary-General Ferdinand Kambere told the AFP news agency that Kabila's prosecution is pure 'theatre' to distract the Congolese people from debates on the conflict and corruption in the country. The former president has been outside the Central African country since late 2023, mostly in South Africa. However, he has threatened to return to help the country resolve the continuing fighting in eastern areas, as well as making increasingly vocal criticism of Tshisekedi. A return to the country by Kabila could complicate the bid to end the rebellion. Reports in April that he was in the east have not been confirmed. Despite DRC's army and M23 agreeing to work towards a truce earlier this month, fighting continues in the eastern province of South Kivu. The long-running tensions in eastern DRC flared into conflict in January when M23 captured the city of Goma, followed by the seizure of Bukavu in February. The group is seeking control of the vast mineral wealth in the eastern areas and has ambitions to take power in Kinshasa. Amid the ongoing fighting, the army and armed groups announced peace talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, in early May.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DR Congo strips ex-leader of immunity over treason charges
The Democratic Republic of Congo's senate has stripped former President Joseph Kabila of his immunity, paving the way for his prosecution over his alleged backing of rebels in the east. Authorities have accused him of treason and war crimes, saying there was a "substantial body of documents, testimony and material facts" linking Kabila to the M23 armed group, which has taken control of several towns in the mineral-rich east. Kabila, 53, has not commented on the accusations but has in the past denied any connection with the insurgents. Nearly 90 senators on Thursday voted in favour of his treason prosecution, while five opposed it. "The senate authorises the prosecution and lifting of Joseph Kabila's immunity," declared senate Speaker Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde after Thursday's vote. The former president, who led the country between 2001 and 2019, did not appear before the senate to defend himself. After stepping down, he was given the title of "senator for life", which gives him legal immunity. PODCAST: Why are people talking about Kabila's return? What's the fighting in DR Congo all about? In order to pursue the charges against him, DR Congo's military prosecutor had asked the senate to lift this privilege. Kabila has been living outside the country, in South Africa, for the past two years. But at the beginning of last month he said he would be returning to help find a solution to the conflict in the east. A few weeks later, there were reports that the former president had come back and was in Goma, one of the cities captured by the M23. But these were denied by his political party, the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD). Last month, the authorities banned the PPRD because of its "ambiguous attitude" to the occupation of Congolese territory by the M23. Ordering the seizure of Kabila's assets, Justice Minister Mutamba said the former president should return to the country and "face justice... and present his defence". Analysts say any trial of Kabila could further destabilise the country, which has been battling the M23 rebellion since 2012. Kabila's party termed his prosecution "pure theatre" aimed at distracting Congolese people from the main challenges facing the country, AFP news agency reported. The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR Congo 'I risked drowning to flee conscription by Congolese rebels' Your phone, a rare metal and the war in DR Congo Is Trump mulling a minerals deal with conflict-hit DR Congo? Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
