A Congolese military court has upheld the rape convictions of eight policemen and 11 soldiers, a court official told AFP Tuesday.
The judgment, which was handed down on Monday, means they will serve between 12 months and 20 years in jail.
The rapes were committed mainly against minors, according to the court in South Kivu province, in the troubled far east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The defendants were also ordered to pay damages and interest, sources said.
"This appeal trial has been exemplary for women's rights," Innocent Mayembe Sangala, a top official of the South Kivu military court, told AFP.
Congolese justice was "extremely rigorous regarding rape, especially the rape of children," he said.
Victims included children ranging in age from 3 months to 17 years, Sangala told AFP, adding that they included "women who were torn away from their husbands or raped in front of their brothers or children."
The atrocities were "so savage" that the court could not be lenient, Sangala said.
The rapes were committed between 2016 and 2021 in several South Kivu towns.
Últimas Noticias
Debanhi Escobar: they secured the motel where she was found lifeless in a cistern
Members of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Nuevo León secured the Nueva Castilla Motel as part of the investigations into the case
The oldest person in the world died at the age of 119
Kane Tanaka lived in Japan. She was born six months earlier than George Orwell, the same year that the Wright brothers first flew, and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
Macabre find in CDMX: they left a body bagged and tied in a taxi
The body was left in the back seats of the car. It was covered with black bags and tied with industrial tape
The eagles of America will face Manchester City in a duel of legends. Here are the details
The top Mexican football champion will play a match with Pep Guardiola's squad in the Lone Star Cup
Why is it good to bring dogs out to know the world when they are puppies
A so-called protection against the spread of diseases threatens the integral development of dogs
