Crispin Sangara (center) stands with two 13-year olds and their mothers outside the Children’s Court of Bukavu. Crispin, who is a volunteer lawyer with IBJ Congo working on juvenile justice, provided legal assistance that resulted in the young boys’ release. They were imprisoned for 2 months accused of stealing a bicycle.

The provision of free legal assistance is a central part of IBJ’s strategy to prevent torture and reduce human rights abuses in prisons. The need for such assistance in the DRC is especially urgent: there exists neither state-sponsored legal aid nor NGO-sponsored free legal aid to criminal defendants. This has resulted in a staggering pre-trial detention rate of 73%. In other words, almost 3 in 4 prisoners who are kept imprisoned are detained without trial.

As a consequence, individuals have no access to legal protection if they are arrested. They are kept in overcrowded, often dangerous conditions, and due to their imprisonment are unable to support their families. Today, IBJ is the only organization in DRC with the capacity to provide legal assistance to individuals who are too poor to otherwise afford a lawyer.

Apendeke Ngalula is 37 years old. She was falsely accused of abducting a child, despite neighbours witnessing Apendeke giving the child in question to her parents. Seeking IBJ for legal assistance, IBJ succeeded in getting her detention order lifted by the investigating magistrate, as the accusations against her were groundless.

The scale of the problem is great. In Bukavu Central Prison alone, over 1,000 individuals are held in pre-trial detention. As such, there is an urgent need for IBJ to scale up its operations and make free legal representation widely accessible. These efforts are crucial to strengthen rule of law and advance access to justice in the region.

Already IBJ’s hard work is bearing fruit: dozens of individuals have thanks to IBJ’s timely intervention been reunited with their families. Furthermore, authorities in the region have shown themselves open to engaging in constructive discussions about the state of criminal justice. The President of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Bukavu, Luc Mushagalusa Basedeke, has stated that since IBJ started working in Bukavu, there has been a noticeable impact on the speed at which cases are being processed.

The IBJ Congo program is spearheaded by country coordinator Charles Mugaruka Mupenda. “It has been my dream and my passion to work in my country, my region, to make justice a reality,” says Charles, whose engagement with IBJ started through the JusticeMakers program in 2012.

Belyse (not her real name), a young mother of 6 from Bujumbura in Burundi, is one such individual. With the Congolese province of South Kivu only a short bus ride away, Belyse crossed the Burundi-Congo border on June 14 and headed to Bukavu, to visit an old friend. Little did she know that before arriving at her friend’s house, she would become a victim of a false accusation.

Having made her way to Bukavu, Belyse was approached by a stranger on the street who accused her of cheating her out of money. Belyse had never seen the woman who accused her before. The stranger started to cry and scream, pulling at Belyse’s clothes and gathering a crowd of angry onlookers, who joined the stranger in hitting and punching Belyse.

Terrified and surrounded by a hostile crowd, Belyse asked to be taken to the nearest police station for safety. However, when she arrived at the nearby Muhungu La Voix Police Station, rather than offering her protection after being subjected to violence in the street, the police detained Belyse after the unknown woman who had instigated the attack told the officers that Belyse had swindled her out of money.

Belyse at the IBJ Congo office with country coordinator Charles Mupenda and IBJ lawyer Munguwampaga Birere Dieudonné

As a native Kirundi speaker, Belyse was unable to communicate properly with the prison guards and prosecutors, as the main language spoken in eastern Congo is Swahili. Detained in police custody then imprisoned in Bukavu Central Prison, Belyse had her legal and travel documents taken from her by a police officer – a common practice throughout the DRC.

Belyse seen off by Charles and Dieudonné at the bus station in Bukavu

At the moment when her situation looked hopeless, IBJ lawyers were able to step in and intervene on her behalf. Meeting with prosecutors and investigating magistrates, IBJ’s lawyers were able to able to obtain her legal documents from the police officer and obtain her release from detention, demonstrating that the charges against her were groundless. After her release, she was brought to IBJ’s office where she shared food and tea with the IBJ Congo team. IBJ then provided her with the money to purchase a bus ticket to return home to Bujumbura, where she was reunited with her 6 young children.

Furthermore, the IBJ Congo team put Belyse in touch with the IBJ team in Burundi, to whom she can turn for help once she is back home.

Belyse was overcome by immense joy at being freed. She expressed her sincerest thanks to IBJ not only for helping to release her from prison, but also for making sure she was able to safely return to her country and her children. As a widow, Belyse is their sole caretaker.

Calling the IBJ Congo office upon her return to Bujumbura, she sends her blessings to all of the IBJ team.

Judge Svay Tonh ruled on Friday that Reaksmay was unlawfully imprisoned for drug trafficking due to her age. Arrested as a 13-year-old, 10 days prior to turning 14, Reaksmay was under the age of criminal responsibility at the time.

Ouk Vandeth, her lawyer and director of IBJ Cambodia, said the judge had concluded from her small stature that Reaksmay could not possibly be 20 years old, as the police report claimed, and ruled that her detention was “unjust”.

A hearing on the drug-trafficking charge will still proceed, but Reaksmay will not face further jail time even if she is found guilty.

“The court just went ahead based on the police report, which didn’t include her birth certificate,” said Vandeth.

Despite her young age, Reaksmay endured 8 months in an overcrowded cell in Prey Sar, in poor sanitary conditions. Unfortunately, she is not alone: 2 in 3 Cambodia prisoners are pre-trial detainees – people who are accused or merely suspected of having committed a crime. Many youth languish in prison without legal representation, with over 600 minors and young prisoners kept in Cambodian prisons.

Reaksmay’s release marks a turning point for juvenile justice. In Cambodia and its other country programs, IBJ is dedicated to ensuring that all ordinary individuals, and youth in particular, have access to justice.

*IBJ previously wrote about Chhay Reaksmay under a pseudonym, Chanlina, to protect her privacy. Her case has since been featured by the Phnom Penh Post and the Herald Sun.

IBJ Volunteer lawyer Katyayni with Fatima at her court case

In Delhi, the need for affordable legal assistance is great. 2 out of 3 prisoners in India are in pre-trial detention. As such, the majority of people in jail have not appeared before a judge or received a fair trial.

Fatima is among the many women who have been arbitrarily detained in Prison No.6, a women’s prison in Delhi. A young mother, Fatima was arrested in March after being wrongly implicated in a case of theft. As is the case for most people in India, Fatima was unable to afford a private lawyer. Without access to legal representation, she remained in jail unable to care for her 4-year-old son, who was left in the care of Fatima’s ailing mother.

However, through a rights awareness camp organized by IBJ India in the Delhi Women’s Prison, Fatima found out about IBJ’s pro-bono work. Reaching out to an IBJ volunteer lawyer, Fatima was provided with free legal assistance and successfully granted bail.

She is now back living with her mother and her son while her trial takes place.

IBJ, by providing free legal assistance and conducting rights awareness camps, was able to intervene early on and prevent Fatima being arbitrarily detained in chronically overcrowded conditions. With many prisoners unable to pay for legal assistance and often uninformed about their legal rights, IBJ is one of the few organizations that give ordinary individuals the chance to access justice and reclaim their freedom. Unfortunately, many individuals are left languishing in prison with little hope on the horizon.

Legal Awareness Camp organized by IBJ India for women prisoners, held at Central Tihar Jail No. 6, New Delhi

With your help, IBJ India can expand its reach helping the most vulnerable in society access justice. There are thousands of imprisoned persons who, like Fatima, are unable to afford a lawyer, and are thus unable to support their families and their community. IBJ is working to make sure that every man, woman and child early access to counsel: and for that, we need your support.

Donate today to support Fatima and other women in Tihar Central Jail.