Landmark Trial for Belgian Colonial Crimes to Go Ahead

Click to expand Image (From left) Family members of murdered Congolese independence icon Patrice Lumumba Yema Lumumba and Mehdi Lumumba, with their Belgian and German lawyers, hold a press conference in Brussels, on January 19, 2026 after a Belgian court hearing on a potential prosecution for the 1961 killing. © 2026 John Thys/AFP via Getty Images A Belgian court ruling on March 17 has paved the way for the last surviving former Belgian official, Étienne Davignon, to face a criminal trial for alleged involvement in the killing of Patrice Émery Lumumba, the first democratically…

© Human Rights Watch - mercredi 18 mars 2026