A 2018 Nobel laureate, Dr. Denis Mukwege, faces a wave of threats because of his work in a hospital center that he established in the middle of DR Congo’s conflict-torn Kivu Province, according to Physicians for Human Rights. The organization has asked for immediate protection for Mukwege, his family, and the renowned Panzi Hospital.
Outspoken in his condemnation of the ongoing wars in Eastern Congo, Dr. Mukwege works there to save the lives of victims of war. He recently has been receiving death threats via social media and the telephone. Some are speculating that the surgeon may be a target of violence after his call for justice that followed the release of a previously buried United Nations report documenting war crimes in Eastern Congo between 1993 and 2003.
Dr. Mukwege has been attacked many times, including in 2012, when his family was held at gunpoint while his guard, who was his friend, was murdered. Physicians for Human Rights is urging the United Nations Mission in Congo to protect Dr. Mukwege and his hospital.
