Maputo, 31 Oct (AIM) – The Bilene district law court, in the southern Mozambican province of Gaza, on Wednesday acquitted 19 people who had been detained by the police during the recent demonstrations called by the independent presidential candidate, Venancio Mondlane.
The police seized the 19 last Thursday in the town of Macia. They were charged with participating in a riot, but six days later the court acquitted them, finding there was no evidence to tie any of them to rioting or looting.
Thus the police had kept 19 young people imprisoned for almost a week, without any evidence that they had committed crimes.
Once they had been released they told reporters that they had been treated violently by the police. Some had been obliged to remove burnt tyres from the streets – the remains of barricades erected by the demonstrators – and were then thrust into dirty water, while others were beaten.
The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) provided the 19 with their defence. After the trial, the OAM condemned the aggressive attitude of the police, but said that legality and justice had been restored.
OAM spokesperson Galdencio Mate said the police excuse was that they had been following “higher orders”.
Similarly, a court in the northern city of Pemba acquitted 14 demonstrators who had been wrongfully arrested.
(AIM)
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