In January, the European Parliament approved a resolution that called for the sending of a mission of MEPs to “verify the situation” of the Portuguese-Belgian citizen detained in the Central African Republic, called for the imposition of “specific sanctions” on the country and reiterated the request for “immediate and unconditional release” that it had already formulated in July.
Earlier, the Portuguese-Belgian’s family had reported the “terrible conditions of detention” and the “numerous infections, generated by the torture he suffered”, warning that his health was “deteriorating considerably”.
According to the family, Joseph was the target of an “unfair” legal process, marked by multiple procedural problems”, which is why he asked that “a solution” be found to allow him to return home and “find his son, who he left with just a month to go on a mission, and his mother, who has been in palliative care since the end of the year”.
Joseph Martin Figueira was arrested in May 2024 and initially faced six charges, including conspiracy, espionage and inciting hatred, for alleged contacts with armed groups in Haut-Mbomou, a region plagued by clashes between rebel groups, where he had been sent by Family Health International 360 on a project to combat poverty and gender-based violence.
In the decision in which he was sentenced to 10 years of forced labor, on November 4th, it was stipulated that the Central African State, which constituted itself as a civil party in the process, be paid compensation in the amount of 50,000 CFA francs (around 75,000 euros) to compensate for the loss suffered due to the financial, logistical and even political resources provided to armed groups, explained one of the civil party’s lawyers.
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