Diplomatic immunity saves UN staffers from DRC murder trial
Pair accused of negligence in organising trip for Italian ambassador, his bodyguard and driver
14 February 2024 - 16:06
by Agency Staff
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Officials inspect the vehicle in which Luca Attanasio and his team were travelling. Attanasio, bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver Mustapha Milambo were killed during a botched kidnapping in eastern DRC. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/GUERCHOM NDEBO
Rome — An Italian judge has ruled that two employees of a UN agency cannot be tried over the deaths of the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his bodyguard and a driver in 2021 because they have diplomatic immunity.
Luca Attanasio, bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver Mustapha Milambo were killed during a botched kidnapping on a road in eastern DRC as they were heading towards a World Food Programme (WFP) project.
Rome prosecutors had requested a trial for Rocco Leone and Mansour Luguru Rwagaza, who at the time of the attack were the deputy chief of the WFP in DRC and a security officer, respectively, accusing the pair of negligence in organising the trip.
However, judge Marisa Mosetti ruled on Tuesday that as employees of the UN, the two men enjoyed diplomatic immunity and cannot therefore be tried.
The prosecutors said they would appeal.
A DRC military court last year sentenced six men to life in prison for the killings.
Eastern DRC has been beset by violence for decades as rival militias fight government troops and each other for control of land and resources.
Kidnappings and attacks on aid convoys had been on the rise at the time of the assault on Attanasio and his entourage.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Diplomatic immunity saves UN staffers from DRC murder trial
Pair accused of negligence in organising trip for Italian ambassador, his bodyguard and driver
Rome — An Italian judge has ruled that two employees of a UN agency cannot be tried over the deaths of the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his bodyguard and a driver in 2021 because they have diplomatic immunity.
Luca Attanasio, bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver Mustapha Milambo were killed during a botched kidnapping on a road in eastern DRC as they were heading towards a World Food Programme (WFP) project.
Rome prosecutors had requested a trial for Rocco Leone and Mansour Luguru Rwagaza, who at the time of the attack were the deputy chief of the WFP in DRC and a security officer, respectively, accusing the pair of negligence in organising the trip.
However, judge Marisa Mosetti ruled on Tuesday that as employees of the UN, the two men enjoyed diplomatic immunity and cannot therefore be tried.
The prosecutors said they would appeal.
A DRC military court last year sentenced six men to life in prison for the killings.
Eastern DRC has been beset by violence for decades as rival militias fight government troops and each other for control of land and resources.
Kidnappings and attacks on aid convoys had been on the rise at the time of the assault on Attanasio and his entourage.
Reuters
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