Belgian-Portuguese citizen Joseph Figueira Martin, kidnapped by the Wagner group and later detained in the Central African Republic (CAR), was sentenced to 10 years of forced labor, reported this Tuesday, November 4, the France Presse agency.
The Bangui Criminal Court found the charges of complicity in a criminal conspiracy and undermining state security proven.
Joseph Martin Figueira was arrested in May 2024 and initially faced six charges, including conspiracy, espionage and incitement to hatred, for his contacts with armed groups in Haut-Mbomou, a region plagued by clashes between rebel groups, where he had been sent by the North American NGO Family Health International 360.
On October 24th, socialist MEPs Francisco Assis and Bruno Gonçalves questioned the head of community diplomacy about the situation of Portuguese-Belgian Joseph Figueira Martin, detained by the Wagner group and who had been awaiting prosecution for more than a year in the Central African Republic.
“Mr. Joseph Figueira Martin, a Belgian-Portuguese citizen, was kidnapped by the Wagner group and later detained in the Central African Republic [RCA] for more than 500 days, in deplorable conditions. In view of the absence of credible and substantiated evidence justifying such a decision, […] there are no guarantees regarding the justice and independence of this process, nor has there been significant diplomatic progress”, stated the PS elected officials, in a question sent to the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at the time.
Last July, the European Parliament condemned the CAR for violating the human rights of Portuguese-Belgian Joseph Figueira Martin.
MEPs approved the resolution, authored by MEP Francisco Assis (PS), by 617 votes in favour, four votes against and 18 abstentions.
In the debate it was explained that the Portuguese-Belgian, who collaborated with the American non-governmental organization Health International 360, was detained and tortured by mercenaries from the Wagner group, linked to Russia, without access to any legal help and facing physical and mental health problems.