More Than 1,000 Files Documenting Alleged Police Violence Handed Over to Pgr

The Decide Electoral Platform, a prominent Mozambican non-governmental organization, submitted more than 1,000 files to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) on Wednesday. The documentation contains evidence regarding alleged police violence during mass demonstrations that followed the October 2024 general elections.

The protests, initiated by former presidential candidate and National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique (Anamola) leader Venancio Mondlane, were held to contest the election results. While the demonstrations began peacefully, they later escalated into rioting.

Wilker Dias, executive director of Decide, stated that the submission includes 1,137 files, consisting of videos and photographs documenting alleged deaths, torture, and disappearances. According to Dias, these materials are intended to support a criminal complaint filed by civil society organizations against former Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda and former police commander Bernardino Rafael.

Dias noted that the organization collected over 500 new videos through a social media campaign to bolster the existing case. He expressed hope that the additional evidence would accelerate the proceedings, which he described as having stagnated at the national level compared to progress made at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Dias alleged that a lack of cooperation from the Mozambican police has hindered the domestic investigation, while authorities have cited the complexity of interviewing witnesses across the country as a cause for delays.

According to statistics compiled by Decide, approximately 400 people were killed and 619 others were injured by gunfire during the five months of unrest that began on October 21, 2024.

The submission of these files coincides with upcoming legal proceedings against Mondlane. The Supreme Court has scheduled a trial for October, where Mondlane faces charges including public apology for a crime, incitement to collective disobedience, public instigation to crime, and instigation to terrorism. The Council of State recently lifted Mondlane’s immunity to allow the trial to proceed.

Article source: allafrica.com | Image credit: Amnesty International