France: Roger Lumbala Refuses to Appear Before Paris Assize Court, Requests Extradition to DRC

The trial of Roger Lumbala Tshitenga, a former Congolese warlord and minister, opened on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, before the Paris Assize Court for alleged complicity in crimes against humanity committed between 2002 and 2003 in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.

From the outset, the accused dismissed his lawyers and refused to appear, arguing that the French justice system was neither competent nor legitimate to try him, and requested extradition to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

His lawyer, Tshibangu Kalala, criticized the lack of on-the-ground investigation by the French prosecutor’s office, which relied on NGO reports written twenty years after the events, stressing that the production of incriminating evidence is a central issue in the trial.

This procedure falls under the principle of universal jurisdiction, allowing a State to prosecute alleged perpetrators of serious crimes, regardless of where the crimes were committed.