The American Michael Sharp and the Swedish-Chilean Zaida Catalán disappeared when they were commissioned by the UN to investigate the violence used in Kasai by, among other things, opening mass graves. Their bodies were found several weeks later. Catalán turned out to be beheaded.
The trial against the many involved, of whom 22 are still fugitives, took more than four years. Prosecutors at the Kananga court ultimately demanded the death penalty against 51 of the 54 accused. This is often imposed in Congo in murder cases, but in practice this has usually meant life imprisonment since 2003.
The convicts can still appeal to the Supreme Military Court in the capital Kinshasa. One person was sentenced to ten years in prison and two others were acquitted.
