– More than 320 people have been killed by police, and over 730 people have been shot.
– Police violence continues despite changes in police leadership.
By Sheila Nhancale
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The Human Rights Commission of the Mozambican Bar Association (CDH-OAM) has denounced brutal police repression against citizens involved in protests contesting Mozambique’s election results, stating that killings, torture, and enforced disappearances have taken place.
In a statement issued to the press on Wednesday, the CDH-OAM accused the Mozambican Police Force (PRM), the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR), and the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) of “abusing their power by using firearms, batons, and physical force against citizens.”
“The PRM has been a poor example of disproportionate, unnecessary, unjustified, and excessive violence, as evidenced by the high number of illegal detentions, preventable deaths, injured citizens, and other cases of persecution and disappearances,” reads the statement signed by Ferosa Zacarias, Director of the CDH-OAM.
The document details a recent case of police torture involving a young man who was detained and accused of managing a Facebook account allegedly inciting violence in the context of the popular protests against the election results.
“At the Civil Prison, lawyers were informed that, after his detention on the 23rd, and during the journey as well as at SERNIC headquarters, Wilson Matias Pita was brutally beaten in ‘hidden parts of the body,’ mainly in the bladder area, causing him severe difficulties in meeting his basic physiological needs,” reads the CDH-OAM statement.
The young man, a victim of police brutality, was presented to journalists on 31 January in a visibly weakened physical state as a result of the assaults he had endured.
The Bar Association stated that there is insufficient evidence against the two young men accused of managing the Facebook account and submitted a request for their release under a term of identity and residence, which was denied by the investigating judge.
In total, the Bar Association reported that 4,236 people were illegally detained across the country in the context of the post-election protests, of whom 96% were released after receiving legal assistance from on-call OAM lawyers.
According to the Bar Association, citing data from a harmonisation group composed of national and international human rights organisations, 737 people were shot, 323 of whom died as a result of police repression.
“The CDH-OAM expresses deep concern over the current scenario of police violence, which, despite the recent change in the leadership of the Mozambican Police Force and the Ministry of the Interior, remains non-compliant with operational standards, particularly those focusing on human rights protection,” the statement stresses.
Corlett Letlojane, Director of the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA), stated that police repression in Mozambique reflects “the Mozambican state’s resistance to public scrutiny, contradicting its obligation to promote and protect the fundamental rights of its citizens.”
“The excessive use of force against peaceful citizens is a direct affront to the government’s commitments to promote fundamental freedoms and democratic values,” Letlojane said in an interview.
Arnold Tsunga, a human rights expert and coordinator of the Civic Space Network in Africa, argued that “the actions of the Mozambican police have been illegal, and accountability for the abuses committed is imperative.” (SN)
