By Alexander Chituc
BRUSSELS, March 27 (Reuters) - A former high-profile Belgian diplomat has appealed against a court decision ordering him to stand trial over the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first prime minister, in 1961, the ex-diplomat's lawyer told Reuters on Friday.
A Belgian court ordered 93-year-old Etienne Davignon, a former vice-president of the European Commission, on March 17 to face prosecution over his alleged involvement in Lumumba's killing 65 years ago.
Beyond confirming his client's appeal, Davignon's lawyer made no further comment on the case.
Prosecutors say Davignon, who was a junior diplomat at the time, participated in the unlawful detention or transfer of Lumumba and deprived him of his right to an impartial trial.
Of the Belgian officials accused of a role in the murder, Davignon is the sole surviving suspect.
Lumumba, who became prime minister of the country now called the Democratic Republic of Congo upon its independence from Belgium in 1960, was ousted from power just months later and killed by Belgian-backed secessionist rebels on January 16, 1961.
A Belgian parliamentary investigation into Lumumba's killing concluded in 2002 that Belgium was "morally responsible" for his death. But the trial of Davignon constitutes the first prosecution related to the murder, in what could be the final opportunity to pursue accountability for one of the most contentious episodes in Belgium’s colonial history.
Though his government lasted just three months, Lumumba became an anti-colonial icon as African nations pushed for independence from their European masters in the 1960s.
(Reporting by Alexander ChitucEditing by Gareth Jones)
