the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a peacekeeping mission. Soldiers killed at least 56 people and wounded at least 85 others according to officials. Three soldiers, including a commander, were convicted of the mass executions following a flawed investigation and trial. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY In March, President Tshisekedi enacted two laws that further curtailed the right to freedom of expression and press freedom. They included the digital code law, which carries a sentence of up to six months’ imprisonment for relaying false information via social media or other electronic communication. Demonstrations were routinely banned or violently dispersed. On 20 May, police and a youth group allegedly affiliated with the ruling party attacked protesters in Kinshasa who were demonstrating against the alleged lack of transparency in the electoral process. Opposition parties had organized the demonstration in which several of their leaders and supporters were injured. Francine Naba, a member of the opposition L’Envol de la RDC (The Rise of the DRC) party who had attended the protest, was found dead on 25 May in Kinshasa, a few hours after she was allegedly abducted by unidentified assailants. Nobody was held accountable for her murder. Between May and July, several opposition leaders, including Moïse Katumbi, Martin Fayulu and Matata Ponyo, were prevented by provincial authorities from entering or holding meetings and rallies in several provinces. ARBITRARY DETENTION AND UNFAIR TRIALS In September, police arrested journalist Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala and questioned him about an article that cited a leaked report attributed to the National Intelligence Agency (ANR). The report allegedly implicated the military intelligence services in Chérubin Okende’s abduction and murder (see above, The State of the World’s Human Rights Unlawful attacks and killings) and questioned the veracity of the authorities’ official version of his death. Stanis Bujakera was charged with “forgery”, “spreading rumours” and “disseminating false information ” although he was not named as the author of the article in question. His trial began on 13 October, and he faced a possible 15-year prison sentence. He was denied provisional release several times and remained in detention. Lens Omalonga, a young activist from L’Envol party, was arrested in Kinshasa in May and held incommunicado for six weeks by the ANR. His lawyer said he was brought before a judge in July and charged with contempt of the president and “harmful imputations” in connection with a social media post he had shared. He faced prosecution under the digital code law and other provisions, and was provisionally released in December. Several members of the Tutsi and Banyamulenge communities were arrested, or abducted, detained and held incommunicado; others faced sham trials, accused of supporting M23 rebels or spying for the Rwandan government. In May, Lazare Sebitereko, a prominent civil society member from the Banyamulenge community in SudKivu province was arrested and transferred to Kinshasa, where he was held incommunicado in a military intelligence cell. At least 21 pro-democracy and opposition activists were arrested, and some of them prosecuted on trumped-up charges connected to their criticism of government policies. In June, a military court of appeal in Goma sentenced King Mwamisyo of the civil society movement Fight for Change (Lutte pour le Changement), to five years in prison for “contempt of the army” after he criticized the state of siege. He had been in prison since September 2022. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS After a drawn-out process lasting seven years, the human rights defenders’ law was enacted in October. The law increased state control over the status and activities of civil society organizations and human rights 149