Carbone Beni, by his full name Carbone Beni wa Beya, is a human rights defender, Congolese pro-democracy activist and co-founder of the citizens' movement Filimbi.[1][2][3][4]

Carbone Beni
Born
Carbone Beni wa Beya

August 15, 1985 (1985-08-15) (age 39)
Kinshasa, Zaire
NationalityCongolese
Occupation(s)human rights defender, social activist
Known forProdemocracy fighter
Websitewww.carbonebeni.com

Biography

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Carbone Beni was born on August 15, 1985, in Kinshasa, Zaire. He was educated in private Congolese establishments, notably at the Les Petites Disciples High school in the residential area of the municipality of Limete. In 2014, after obtaining high school diploma, he continued his studies in information and communication technologies at the Technological University of Bel Campus, then a bachelor's degree in Business Administration at the Canadian University at Congo.[3]

In 2015, Carbone Beni co-founded the citizens' movement "Filimbi", a word of Swahili origin which means "whistle". This movement aims to increase the citizen participation of young Congolese in the democratic process.[5] It is made up of cells throughout the national territory called "Sinzile" in Lingala which means "sentinel".[6] The movement rose to prominence during the 19 January 2015 DRC protests against the third term of former President Joseph Kabila in power since 2001 and the 2016 political crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[7][8]

Court cases

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In December 2016, Carbone Beni was at the heart of the great anti-Kabila mobilization for the march of Catholic Christians of December 31, 2017, initiated by the Lay Coordinating Committee.[9] He was brutally arrested alongside other four of his comrades, said Human Rights Watch Central Africa director Ida Sawyer.[10][11][12]

He was then detained for more than nine months in the dungeon of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) in Kinshasa, before being officially indicted on September 26 for "undermining the internal security of the State", "offending the head of state", and "publication and distribution of subversive writings".[13] They were sentenced to twelve months in prison by the Gombe Peace Tribunal in Kinshasa,[14] then released on December 25, 2018.[15][16][9][17]

References

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  1. ^ "2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Democratic Republic of the Congo", United States Department of State. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  2. ^ (fr)"Carbone Beni: " rien ne pourra nous arrêter "", Politico, December 26, 2018. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  3. ^ a b (fr)"RDC : depuis sa prison, l'activiste Carbone Beni dénonce une " justice inféodée au pouvoir "", Jeune Afrique, September 27, 2018. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  4. ^ [1], Amnesty International(Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  5. ^ (fr)"RDC: le rêve de changement des jeunes se répand sur l'ensemble du continent", Le Soir, April 6, 2017. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  6. ^ "We must catch and remove DR Congo President Kabila", BBC, January 24, 2012. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  7. ^ (fr)"Annulation d'un sit-in devant le siège de l'Union africaine en RDC", Voice of America, October 26, 2016.(Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  8. ^ (fr)"Carbone Beni ( Filimbi ) : " Nous allons maintenant reprendre nos actions de terrain "", Provinces26rdc, July 24, 2017.(Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  9. ^ a b (fr)"RDC: libération de Carbone Beni et de trois membres du mouvement Filimbi", RFI, December 26, 2018 (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  10. ^ (fr)"RDC : Human Rights Watch préoccupé par l'état de santé de Carbone Beni", Actualite.cd, May 7, 2018. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  11. ^ (fr)"Sept jeunes activistes congolais arrêtés pour avoir exigé la libération de leurs collègues", Human Rights Watch, July 13, 2018. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  12. ^ (fr)"Congo, Rép. Dém.: Libération de MM. Carbone Beni Wa Beya, Mino Bompomi, Grâce Tshiuza et Cédric Kalonji", World Organisation Against Torture(Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  13. ^ (fr)"CARBONE BENI : " J'AI ÉTÉ ENLEVÉ EN DÉCEMBRE 2016 ET J'AI PASSÉ PRESQUE TROIS SEMAINES SOUS LE CONTRÔLE DIRECT DE KIBELISA "", Sauti ya Congo, le April 11, 2019. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  14. ^ (fr)"Procès Filimbi : Palmer Kabeya acquitté, Carbone Beni et les autres écopent 12 mois de prison", Objectif Infos, September 26, 2018. (Retrieved Septembre 23, 2020)
  15. ^ (fr)"RDC : Carbone Béni du mouvement citoyen Filimbi, libéré après 1 an d'incarcération – YouTube", TV5 Monde, December 26, 2018. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  16. ^ (fr)"RDC : quatre militants du mouvement citoyen Filimbi, dont Carbone Beni, libérés à Kinshasa", Jeune Afrique, December 25, 2018. (Retrieved September 23, 2020)
  17. ^ "DRCongo frees pro-democracy activists after year in jail", Independent, December 25, 2018. (Retrieved September 13, 2020)
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