DAR ES SALAAM,
Tanzania
The leader of Tanzania's main opposition party, who is on trial on terrorism charges, said in court Monday that he had been tortured in custody and forced by police to make a statement, his lawyer said.
Freeman
Mbowe has been in detention since July 21 when he was arrested along with other
senior Chadema party officials just hours before they planned to hold a forum
to demand constitutional reform.
The
59-year-old has been charged with terrorism financing and conspiracy in a case
that has triggered concern among rights groups and Western nations about the
state of democracy under Tanzania's new President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Mbowe's
lawyer Peter Kibatala said that when they appeared in court in Dar es Salaam on
Monday, Mbowe and his three co-defendants accused prosecutors of reading
trumped-up statements.
"They
told the court that they were tortured and humiliated and forced to record such
statements," Kibatala told journalists after the hearing.
"These
were not their voluntary statements."
The case
against Mbowe and his co-accused is to be transferred to the High Court but no
date has been set for a new hearing.
Hassan's
government, citing Covid-19 regulations and security, last week warned foreign
diplomats against turning up to court to follow the case without notifying the
foreign ministry.
The
diplomats have instead been instructed to follow the case through the media.
Mbowe's
arrest came five months after Hassan took office following the sudden death of
her predecessor John Magufuli in March.
There had
been hopes Hassan would bring about a new era of democracy after the
increasingly autocratic rule of Magufuli, nicknamed the "Bulldozer"
for his uncompromising style.
But
Chadema leaders say the arrests of Mbowe and his colleagues reflect a deepening
slide into "dictatorship."
They have
accused the government of meddling in the case and want the court to dismiss
the charges and declare a mistrial.
Prosecutors
say the allegations against Mbowe do not relate to the constitutional reform
conference Chadema had planned to hold in the port city of Mwanza, but to
alleged offences last year in another part of Tanzania.
Chadema
said prosecutors accuse Mbowe of conspiring to attack a public official, and
giving 600,000 Tanzanian shillings ($260 / 220 euros) towards blowing up petrol
stations and public gatherings and cutting down trees to block roads. -
AFP
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