KINSHASA (Congo), July 22: At least 26 prisoners have died of hunger in a prison in Congo since the beginning of the year, UN officials said. The United Nations Mission in Congo sent a team to the Mbuji-Mayi Central Prison in the province of Kasai Oriental, about 370 miles southeast of the capital, Kinshasa.

Sylvie Van Wildenberg, a UN spokeswoman, said that four prisoners died during the night of July 13 “as a result of severe malnutrition.” At least 10 have died since June, and 26 since the beginning of the year, she said on Monday. “Our concern is even greater as we noted that among these deaths, many of them are defendants, who are therefore presumed innocent because they have not been judged due to the slowness of the legal process,” said Assiongbon Tettekpoe.—AP