Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts is calling on the Republic of Congo to release a former Nebraska resident.
In a statement released Friday, Governor Ricketts stated that a former Lincoln resident, 70 year old Marcel Pika, has been held in prison in the Congo for over a year, although no charges have been filed against him.
Pika is a retired colonel who served in the Republic of Congo's military, but fled the country in the 1990's. Pika and his family came to Lincoln in 1999 as refugees before returning to the Republic of Congo with his wife in 2007.
After the country's elections in 2016, Pika was arrested in his home with no formal charges ever filed against him.
In his statement, Ricketts urged the Republic of Congo to release Pika to the United States.
“The Republic of the Congo has unlawfully imprisoned Mr. Pika, a former Nebraskan, without formal charges. He has been incarcerated for over a year and has health concerns that must be addressed. The Congo should release him to U.S. authorities immediately. I have urged members of our federal delegation and officials at the U.S. Department of State to continue to do everything in their power to secure the safe release of Mr. Pika.”