The Human Rights Commission of the Mozambican Bar Association (CDH-OAM) strongly condemned the "normalization" of structural violence and the illegalities committed by the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) and its operational units, including the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) and the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC)..

In a statement, quoted by Dossiers & FactsThe CDH-OAM denounced a pattern of violent and arbitrary action by the security forces, highlighting the case of the arbitrary detention of Wilson Matias Pita and António Daniel Muthemba, accused of running the Facebook page "Unay Cambuma" and committing crimes against state security. According to the Order, Wilson Matias Pita was brutally beaten after his arrest and was later presented to the press in a deplorable state and with serious injuries, including injuries to his genitals.

Another episode mentioned occurred on January 15, during the inauguration of the President of the Republic, Daniel Chapo, when a UIR agent was caught violently assaulting a citizen and confiscating her belongings in the middle of a public street in the city of Maputo.

The CDH-OAM also denounced that, throughout the country, there have been some 4,236 illegal arrests related to demonstrations, resulting in 737 people being shot and 323 killed. The sources cited include Amnesty International, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) and the Center for Public Integrity (CIP).

Faced with the seriousness of the facts, the Bar Association demands that rigorous measures be taken to hold those involved in acts of violence and torture criminally and disciplinarily responsible. The CDH-OAM also called on the press to adopt an ethical and impartial stance when covering cases of police violence.

(Photo DR)