For talks, the Belgian government has called back its ambassador to Kinshasa.
A court in Kinshasa affirmed a Belgian-Congolese military expert’s death sentence, sparking a diplomatic dispute between Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In an appeal case for allegedly planning an unsuccessful coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year, Jean-Jacques Wondo was found guilty by the military court, his attorney announced Monday.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the Belgian government said Monday that it would immediately recall its ambassador to Kinshasa for consultations and call the DRC envoy to Brussels “to express our disappointment.”
“Considering the significant flaws in the arguments made during the hearings and the blatant absence of reliable evidence, this death sentence of our compatriot cannot be taken lightly,” it continued.
Wondo is one of 37 suspected coup plotters, including three Americans, who were found guilty by the Kinshasa military court in September 2024 of terrorism and criminal association and given the death penalty.
