Smyrna Man Sues Congo Officials Over Arrest, Interrogation

SMYRNA, GA — A Smyrna man is suing two top Congolese officials for allegedly arresting him and demanding that he falsely confess to being a part of a plot to overthrow its government.

U.S. Air Force veteran Daryl Lewis, now a security contractor, says he was illegally held in Congo's capital of Kinshaha for six weeks and interrogated for as long as 16 hours a day, reports McClatchy DC, by members of Congo's national intelligence agency.

Lewis was working as an unarmed security adviser for Moise Katumbi, an opponent of incumbent President Joseph Kabila. The lawsuit says he and three others were arrested by police on April 24 near a political rally for Katumbi; held for weeks in a filthy jail; repeatedly abused and tortured; and given only one small meal per day.

Lewis was released on June 8. He was never charged with any crime, and said he made no confessions of any sort.

Read the rest of McClatchy's report here.

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