Maputo, 27 Sep (AIM) – The Mozambican Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has opened criminal proceedings against thirteen police officers, in the central city of Beira, for torturing an alleged criminal to death.
According to PGR spokesperson, Joaquim Tomo, cited by the independent paper “O País”, the police officers tortured the alleged criminal, named Tomás Evaristo, until he lost his life in a police cell, which means he died as a result of ill-treatment while in police custody.
“This case is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Section of the PGR. More officers may be charged. Other detainees, who were in the same cell as the dead man, have all been questioned. The case is still open”, he said.
Tomo explained that the evidence so far indicates that Evaristo was beaten “in the cell on the night of the 13th. He lost his life on the way to hospital, but the suffering was inflicted on him in the cells of the second police precinct, in Beira city.”
Tomo stressed that the police have no right to act violently towards people accused of crimes. “Nobody is allowed to torture a citizen because of a crime. That’s lynching”, he declared.
(AIM)
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