{"id":372876,"date":"2017-11-12T08:42:34","date_gmt":"2017-11-12T08:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=372876"},"modified":"2017-11-12T08:42:34","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T08:42:34","slug":"dr-congos-kavumu-child-rape-trial-opens-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/dr-congos-kavumu-child-rape-trial-opens-2\/","title":{"rendered":"DR Congo’s Kavumu child rape trial opens"},"content":{"rendered":"
Eighteen militiamen are on trial in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on charges of raping 46 children.<\/p>\n
Some of the victims from the village of Kavumu were just 18 months old.<\/p>\n
The men allegedly targeted young girls between 2013 and 2016 because a spiritual adviser told them that the blood of virgins would grant them supernatural protection.<\/p>\n
The alleged militia leader, Frederic Batumike, a provincial legislator, and the other defendants deny the charges.<\/p>\n
Rights groups hope the trial will help to end a culture of rape as a tool of war in DR Congo.<\/p>\n
“The start of the trial is a strong signal in the fight against impunity,” Jean Chrysostome Kijana, an activist representing the victims, told Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n
Proceedings started 10 hours late and lasted only 20 minutes on Thursday, during which time the defendants’ names were read aloud, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
Advocacy groups have told Reuters that the case has been particularly difficult to investigate because the victims were so young.<\/p>\n
“Their families were often asleep when the alleged rapes occurred,” Reuters reports.<\/p>\n