An American diplomat and five journalists arrested alongside activists in Democratic Republic of Congo have been released, but the African activists remain in custody on suspicion of planning to destabilise the country, officials said Monday.
Militants from Senegal, DR Congo and Burkina Faso - as well as the journalists and US diplomat Kevin Sturr - were detained at a press conference the pro-democracy critics organised Sunday in the capital Kinshasa.
"We have released the diplomat and the journalists" but the others were still being questioned concerning a "campaign to destabilise" the mineral-rich nation, said DR Congo government spokesman Lambert Mende.
Sturr, who is an official with American government aid agency USAID, and the arrested journalists were released on Sunday.
"We have not been officially informed as to why he was detained," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Activists from the three nations gathered in Kinshasa Saturday for a meeting they said was intended to raise consciousness and mobilise young people about good government and democracy.
A Congolese journalist with BBC and a Congolese reporter with TV channel Antenne A were also taken into custody.
Kinshasa has been tense since violent anti-government demonstrations in January which the government said left 27 people dead, while rights groups put the toll at 42.
"Arresting people for expressing their opinion, which is the case for Y'en a marre... is a violation of regional and international standards in terms of human rights," said Alioune Tine, a regional bureau director for Amnesty International.
These arrests are going to "contribute to increasing tensions and intolerance in DRC," he added.
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