A group of 146 civil society organisations today express their serious concern about the legal proceedings filed in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Israeli businessman Dan Gertler against Congo's leading anti-corruption coalition, Le Congo n'est pas à Vendre (Congo is Not for Sale or CNPAV). The criminal lawsuit (citation directe) filed in early March targets CNPAV spokesperson Jean-Claude Mputu and his employer Resource Matters, a Belgian civil society group and a member of the CNPAV coalition.
The lawsuit centers around an interview Mputu gave to news outlet Actualite.cd about the amount of money Gertler's companies had earned in the DRC. The CNPAV coalition published information to back-up its claim, yet Gertler has sued for defamation and is seeking one million Euros in damages.
Gertler and his network have initiated a wave of lawsuits against anti-corruption activists, whistleblowers, journalists and civil society groups over the past two years. These have included legal action against two other members of CNPAV - The Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) and Global Witness - as well as against specialist website African Intelligence, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and two of its journalists. Two whistleblowers employed at Afriland First Bank in Kinshasa who exposed allegations of apparent money laundering benefiting Gertler have also faced lawsuits. In a deeply flawed legal process in the DRC, the two whistleblowers were sentenced to death in absentia. The alleged money laundering concerns they reported have not been investigated.
"The lawsuits against the members of CNPAV are the latest in a deluge of cases brought by Dan Gertler and his network against those who are legitimately raising transparency and accountability questions about public contracts," the organisations said. "We are extremely concerned that anti-corruption defenders and organizations are being targeted, threatened, intimidated and harassed simply for doing their work. Such intimidation may discourage others from working to hold the authorities and private actors to account."
A contentious Settlement Agreement between Gertler and DRC authorities signed in February 2022 has resulted in extensive public debate. The settlement stipulates that Gertler will sell back some of his oil and mining assets to the Congolese state and allows his company to retain the right to collect valuable royalty streams on three copper-cobalt mines for the next fifteen years. The settlement also shields Gertler and his network from judicial investigations in the DRC.
The deal further commits the Congolese government to assist Gertler's efforts to have US anti-corruption sanctions against him lifted. Since 2017 Gertler and dozens of linked companies have been sanctioned by the US government under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The press release announcing the sanctions against Gertler indicated that he had "amassed his fortune through hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals" in Congo. Following the initial sanctions in 2017, the US sanctioned an additional 14 companies affiliated with Gertler in June 2018, and another 12 in December 2021. Gertler has repeatedly sought sanctions relief and denied wrongdoing.
On February 7, Gertler wrote to CNPAV and a group of leading nongovernmental organisations stating that the US sanctions had been "crippling" and that he had "been punished". He urged the groups to support the new agreement which he claimed was "the largest-ever consensual transfer in the history of the region." In a response on March 15, the groups said they could not back the settlement as too many outstanding questions remain about its substance, including the lack of transparency on the lucrative royalty rights Gertler would retain. In a separate letter on March 8, a coalition of 25 civil society groups, including CNPAV, urged the US administration not to ease the sanctions against Gertler in the absence of appropriate accountability measures and a demonstrable change in behavior on his behalf.
The organisations said that they were extremely concerned that the lawsuits against Mputu and Resource Matters are Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation or SLAPPs. SLAPPs are a form of legal harassment used by those with deep pockets seeking to silence campaigners, journalists and other public watchdogs via legal intimidation and expensive legal procedures.
"The proper management of Congo's abundant natural resources relies on transparency, accountability and public scrutiny to ensure the Congolese people are truly reaping the benefits. Protecting the rights of those raising legitimate questions is the responsibility of Congolese authorities and it is essential to achieving accountability and the rule of law. It is only the corrupt and the powerful who benefit when the voices of journalists and anti-corruption defenders are silenced."
Note to editors:
Gertler announced legal proceedings against Jean Claude Mputu and Resource Matters for "imputations dommageables" (akin to defamation) at the Tribunal de Paix de Gombe in Kinshasa on March 8. The next hearing is scheduled for July 3 2023.
On April 13, Gertler sent a letter to a number of human rights and anti-corruption groups stating he would suspend some of the lawsuits he had initiated against civil society organisations and media outlets. He did not specify which ones. He issued a further statement on April 14. Given the multiple lawsuits Gertler has initiated, we await further clarification to confirm what concrete steps he and his network have taken to halt the SLAPP style proceedings. As far as we understand, none of the lawsuits have been withdrawn to date.
Signed by:
11.11.11
350Africa.org
ACAT CONGO
Accountability Counsel
ACEDH
Action Contre l'Impunité pour les Droits Humains (ACIDH)
Action des jeunes pour le développement et la défense des droits humains
Action Mines Guinée
Action Paysanne Contre la Faim
Actions pour la Défense et la Promotion des Droits Humains (ADPDH)
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AEMAPRI
Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO)
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Agir ensemble pour les droits humains
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Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa
Amnesty International
Andrew Lees Trust
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Blueprint for Free Speech
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Cadre de Concertation de la société civile de l'Ituri sur les Ressources Naturelles (CdC/RN)
Cadre de Concertation Provincial de la Société Civile du Kasaï Central (CCPSC -KA)
Cadre de Consertation pour la Reforme des Services de Sécurité et la Justice
CARITAS BUNIA/CDJP
Cenadep
Center for Environmental Research and Agriculture Innovations (CERAI)
Center for Transnational Environmental Accountablility
Centre congolais pour le droit du développement durable (CODED)
Centre for Applied Legal Studies (University of Witwatersrand, South Africa)
Centre pour la Justice et la Réconciliation (CJR)
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Cetri CNCD-11.11.11
Coalition Nationale Publiez Ce Que Vous Payez (RDC)
Coalition pour la Gouvernance des Entreprises Publiques (COGEP)
Collectif des ONG oeuvrant dans le secteur de Mines, Environnement et Electricité (COMEE)
Commission Diocésaine Justice et paix Kabinda Commission Diocésaine Justice et Paix Belgique
Communities First
Conseil Regional des Organisations Non Gouvernementales de développement
Corap
Core Care Africa (CCA)
Corner House
Corporate Accountability Lab
CREDDHO
Détectives Experts pour les Droits au Quotidien (DEDQ)
Dimension Humaine
Dynamique des femmes pour l'environnement et son développement (DYFED)
EarthRights International
Earthworks
EG Justice
Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA USA)
European Network for Central Africa (EurAc)
FILIMBI
Forum Tunisien pour les Droits Economiques et Sociaux
Foundation For Environmental Rights Advocacy & Development (FENRAD)
Friends of Angola
Friends of the Earth Europe
Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)
Global Witness
Goma Actif
Goma Slam Session
Green Advocates International
Heartland Initiative
HEDA Resource Centre
Human Rights Foundation
Human Rights Watch
Inclusive Development International
Index on Censorship
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Innovation pour le Développement et la Protection de l'Environnement
International Lawyers Project
International Rivers
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Justice Pour Tous
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London Mining Network
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Lumière Synergie pour le Développement
MABOKO OKO
MiningWatch Canada
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Mouvement pour les Droits de l'Homme et la Reconciliation (MDR)
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Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI)
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