E/CN.4/2000/9 page 63 1996 of the principle of providing a direct right of compensation pursuant to findings of the Human Rights Committee and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is also highly laudable. He hopes that the draft reform of the Military Penal Code as described will soon enter into force. Nevertheless, he is constrained to note that, in respect of the numerous cases on which the Government has responded, only one investigation resulted in a sanction, namely the disciplinary sanction of suspension of duty for 60 days. This represents a clear continuation of the persistent problem of impunity for violation of human rights within the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. Democratic Republic of the Congo Regular communications and replies received 297. By letter dated 4 October 1999 transmitted jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received information on the following cases. 298. Freddy Loseke Lisumbu-La-Yayenga, editor of the newspaper La Libre Afrique, was reportedly arrested on 22 December 1998 in Place Victoire, in the Kalamu sector, by three members of the national police, and taken by the Presidential Protection Unit (GSSP) to the "GLM" building in Gombé, where he was allegedly given 150 lashes with a whip. He is said to have then been interrogated on an article that was published that day in his newspaper. He was then taken to the President's chief of staff, who reportedly urged him to "collaborate" before any article was published, and then ordered him released. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mentioned the case in his complaints letter dated 30 December 1998. 299. Christophe Bintu and Bienvenu Kasole, two human rights defenders, are said to have been arrested on 12 January 1999 and released from the camp at Kokolo on 20 January 1999. They were allegedly beaten during their arrest. Mr. Bintu's arm reportedly bled for two days but he received no medical treatment. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mentioned the case in his complaints letter dated 15 March 1999. 300. Jean-Baptiste Makoko, treasurer of the Lotus Group, a non-governmental organization concerned with human rights in Kisangani, was reportedly arrested on 10 December 1997 by three soldiers who beat him. He was allegedly accused of having photographed bodies of dead soldiers at Kisangani hospital and of working in the field of human rights. He was reportedly released without charge on 16 December. 301. Albert Gilbert Bosangi Yema, editor-in-chief of the newspapers L'Arme and L'Essor Africain, is said to have been arrested on 7 February 1998, allegedly because of a L'Arme article criticizing the arrest of Joseph Olengha N'Koy, president of a political movement called the Forces novatrices pour l'union et la solidarité (FONUS). He was allegedly accused of jeopardizing State security and is said to have been taken to the Penitentiary and Reform Centre of Kinshasa, formerly Makala central prison. He is a diabetic and suffers from rheumatism, and his health has reportedly deteriorated during his incarceration. He was allegedly hit with truncheons after his arrest and is said to have been