Italian Judge Rules U.N. Staff Cannot Be Tried for Congo Deaths, According to Reuters

ROME (Reuters) – An Italian judge has determined that two employees of a U.N. agency cannot be prosecuted for the deaths of the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, his bodyguard, and a driver in 2021 due to diplomatic immunity.

Luca Attanasio, along with bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci and driver Mustapha Milambo, lost their lives during a failed kidnapping attempt on a road in eastern Congo while en route to a World Food Programme (WFP) project.

Rome prosecutors had sought a trial for Rocco Leone and Mansour Luguru Rwagaza, who were the deputy chief of the WFP in Congo and a security officer at the time, respectively, citing negligence in planning the trip.

However, Judge Marisa Mosetti ruled on Tuesday that the two men, as U.N. employees, are protected by diplomatic immunity and therefore cannot be subjected to trial. The prosecutors have stated their intention to appeal the decision.

Last year, a military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo sentenced six individuals to life imprisonment in connection with the killings.

Eastern Congo has experienced prolonged violence, with various militias clashing with government forces and each other over control of land and resources. At the time of the attack on Attanasio and his team, incidents of kidnappings and assaults on aid convoys were increasing.