Tanzanian Opposition Leader Lawyers Petition UN Over Arbitrary Detention Claim

Editorial: reda El ghazal

Filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention seeking international intervention to release Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu his legal team confirmed Friday. Lissu chairman of the main opposition party Chadema and presidential runner-up in 2020 faces treason charges tied to alleged calls for preventing October national elections a capital offense according to Tanzanian authorities. This legal action forms part of a broader strategy to intensify global pressure following his arrest last month though the UN group lacks enforcement power its opinions carry significant diplomatic weight .

Meanwhile authorities escalated repression by detaining Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan lawyer Agather Atuhaire who attempted to observe Lissu’s court hearing last week. Both activists reported severe torture during custody before being abandoned near their respective borders Tanzanian officials ignored repeated requests for comment on these allegations. President Samia Suluhu Hassan simultaneously warned foreign observers against invading and interfering in domestic affairs despite her government’s claims of respecting human rights and investigating abductions .

Consequently international backlash mounts as Lissu’s lawyer Robert Amsterdam announced parallel efforts petitioning the US State Department for sanctions against Tanzanian officials involved in what he termed a false show trial. His warning specifically targeted prosecutors judges and police with US assets while the European Parliament previously condemned the detention as politically motivated. Tanzania dismissed foreign criticism as based on incomplete or partisan information even as Lissu who survived a 2017 assassination attempt prepares for his next court appearance .