abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

8 May 2013

Author:
Katrin Matthaei, Deutsche Welle (Germany)

German court investigates raid on Congolese village

German authorities are examining a case in which a German manager who worked with a timber company in the DRC is accused of allowing local security forces to carry out a brutal raid against Congolese villagers…About 60 police and soldiers raided the village. They beat up men and women, burnt down houses, bundled men on to trucks and beat them again before forcibly driving them to a police station in Bumba…The security forces were sent in by the Congolese timber company Siforco. The company says they called in the police to recover equipment which villagers had stolen two weeks previously…At the time of the raid, Siforco was the Congolese subsidiary of the German-Swiss group Danzer… [T]he European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Global Witness…have brought charges against…[German Danzer Group manager Olof von Gagern]…arguing that he could have prevented the use of excessive force…The accused manager...has rejected all allegations...[Danzer sold Siforco to Blattner Group in February 2012]

Timeline

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.