"Global Climate Legal Defense launched the report and a photo exhibit of environmentalists persecuted by governments and the fossil fuel industry at the close of last month’s Climate Week NYC."

"Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo was watching television in his living room in May when a group of motorcyclists pulled up outside the gates of his home in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the riders fired nine bullets into the house.

Seven bullets struck his living room, where he and his family were watching television. Two more entered his bedroom. No one was hurt.

Katembo didn’t find out who fired the shots, but it wasn’t the first time he’s been targeted for his work as a park ranger, protecting endangered species and opposing extraction in Africa’s oldest national park.

Katembo leads anti-poaching and biodiversity monitoring at Virunga National Park, a 3,000 square mile conservation project that holds 44 endangered species and provides water, electricity and jobs to surrounding communities."

Keerti Gopal and Mathilde Augustin report for Inside Climate News October 16, 2024. [2]