Congo police face neglect charge after cell deaths

BRAZZAVILLE, Congo Republic (Reuters) -- Five police officers in the Congo Republic are to be charged with neglect after 13 people died of suffocation in a police cell in the port city of Pointe-Noire last month, court sources said on Thursday.

The charges will allege "neglect and failure to assist a person whose life is in danger," the sources said.

The 13 men, aged between 20 and 30, died on November 13 after being crammed into a small cell in a police station in the Tie-Tie district. They had been arrested for minor offences ranging from petty theft to street fighting.

The deaths caused an outcry in the city, prompting the interior minister to promise sanctions against the officers concerned and sack their commissioner.

A local rights group said in November that at least 15 prisoners had died but the court sources said it was 13. One prisoner recovered in hospital.

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