Maputo, 17 Mar (AIM) – The international NGO Human Rights Watch has called for an investigation into the use of tear gas against the funeral cortege of Mozambique’s best known rap artist, Edson da Luz, better known by his stage name Azagaia, in Maputo last Tuesday.
“The Mozambican police, responsible for safety and security at funeral processions or other public gatherings, should always abide by human rights standards for the use of force,” said Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement issued on Thursday, adding that “the Mozambican authorities should promptly and impartially investigate the police involved in the use of teargas.”
Azagaia’s death, on 9th March, was the result of an epileptic seizure. The singer had long suffered from epilepsy, and the disease struck him again at his home, in the city of Matola. At the time, he was alone in his room, and so there was nobody to rescue him when he collapsed.
Thousands of mourners marched from Maputo City Hall to Michafutene cemetery. The funeral organisers believed the route had already been agreed with the police – but the police refused to allow the cortege to march past the offices of President Filipe Nyusi. Tear gas cylinders were fired into the crowd before a compromise was eventually reached.
Human Rights Watch believes an impartial investigation is needed to determine whether officials unnecessarily rushed to use tear gas and to hold them accountable.
“Under the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, law enforcement may only use force when strictly necessary and to the extent required to achieve a legitimate policing objective. Force should be used as a last resort when it is unavoidable to protect life and should be proportionate and necessary”, Budoo-Scholtz says.
The 2020 UN Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement provides that tear gas should only be employed when necessary to prevent further physical harm and should not be used to disperse non-violent demonstrations. Tear gas should only be used after a warning is given and participants have been given time to obey the warning and have a safe space or route for them to move.
“For many Mozambicans, the death of Azagaia was a sad enough event that shouldn’t have been made more tragic by the police’s excessive use of force,” Budoo-Scholtz said.
Azagaia’s lyrics were frequently highly critical of the ruling Frelimo Party, and its governments – so much so that, in 2008, the Attorney-General’s Office (PGR) summoned him for questioning. His song “Povo no Poder” (“The People in Power”) was supposedly fomenting riots.
(AIM)
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