The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen a significant increase in death sentences since the government lifted a moratorium on executions in March 2024. According to a report by the French campaign group Together Against the Death Penalty, courts sentenced over 480 individuals to death in 2024, a dramatic rise from 122 in 2023, with 344 more in 2025. Although no executions have been confirmed, the report highlights a growing climate of fear among the population. The investigative mission, which visited around 20 prisons, found that at least 950 people are currently on death row, up from just over 500 in 2019. The report points to overcrowded and dilapidated prison conditions, where detainees often lack basic health and food security and may not even be aware of their death sentences. Many sentences are issued after summary trials, with inadequate legal representation, raising serious concerns about the right to a fair trial in a judicial system described as opaque and susceptible to external influence.