Verdict in DR Congo activist murder trial delayed

A Democratic Republic of Congo military court trying eight police officers for the murder of a leading rights activist delayed its verdict due Thursday for a week, an official said. Its ruling on the murder last year of leading rights campaigner Floribert Chebeya was now expected on June 23 after a judge had fallen ill, the chief clerk of the court told AFP. "The verdict has been postponed to next Thursday. A judge of the court is sick," Marie-Jose Benteke said. Chebeya was found dead in the back of his car on June 2, 2010 on a road near Kinshasa. His wrists bore the traces of handcuffs. The day before, the 47-year-old activist had gone to police headquarters in Kinshasa for a meeting with the national force's Inspector General John Numbi. Chebeya's driver Fidele Bazana, who had accompanied him, was never found. Only five of the policemen accused of involvement in the murder have been arrested with three still on the run. All five have denied the charges against them. The death sparked outrage from national and international rights campaigners as well as from the United States and the European Union.