Mozambique carried out a brutal crackdown on post-election protests, Amnesty says

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - Mozambique’s security forces carried out a brutal, three-month crackdown on protesters after the country’s election last year, a leading international rights group said Wednesday, citing local activists who alleged that more than 300 people were killed and more than 3,000 were injured in the unrest.

In its new report, Amnesty International called on Mozambican authorities to investigate the killings and all rights violations in the wake of the election, and to bring law enforcement officials responsible to justice.

Thousands of Mozambicans took part in waves of protests in the weeks after the Oct. 9 presidential and parliamentary election, where Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo party was declared the winner amid allegations of rigging and election fraud raised by his challengers and international observers.

The protests were in support of Venancio Mondlane, who ran as an independent candidate but was supported by the opposition Podemos party.

The demonstrations intensified after the Oct. 18 killing of Mondlane’s lawyer and a Podemos official, who were fatally shot by gunmen late at night while sitting in a car in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo.

Mondlane denounced the slayings as a political assassination and called for 25 days of protests - one day for each of the 25 bullets that were fired at the car. Mondlane, citing fears for his own safety, left the country for two months but returned in January.

According to Amnesty’s report, between Oct. 21 and Jan. 25, the Mozambique police and army used deadly force against largely peaceful marches and gatherings, shooting live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at protesters and bystanders.

Amnesty cited the Mozambican civil society group Plataforma DECIDE, which said 315 people died in the protests between Oct. 21 and Jan. 16 - a toll that far exceeded numbers that authorities have acknowledged. Police said in January that 96 people were killed in the protests during the three-month time period, including 17 officers.

“Police unlawfully used firearms and less lethal weapons, killing and injuring protesters and bystanders," Amnesty said. "The army also used force and less lethal weapons recklessly and unlawfully."

Amnesty said its report was based on interviews with 28 people, including eyewitnesses, victims, victims’ relatives, doctors and lawyers. Other rights groups have reported that at least 10 children were among those killed in the protests.

Police carried out mass arrests of protesters and bystanders, including teenagers, Amnesty said. Plataforma DECIDE said more than 4,000 people were arrested, most of them arbitrarily.

Amnesty also said it has evidence suggesting that Mozambican internet providers restricted access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and the messaging service WhatsApp "at key moments during the protests."

In January, Chapo was sworn in as president. He and Mondlane met in March in an attempt at mediation, with the president promising to investigate protest deaths.

The Frelimo party has ruled Mozambique since independence from colonial ruler Portugal in 1975 and has often been accused of rigging elections by putting officials loyal to it in charge of electoral processes. A report by election observers from the European Union said last year’s vote was marred by deliberate invalidation of opposition votes and alteration of polling results, as well as ballot box stuffing in favor of Frelimo.

Mozambican politics have been largely framed by a 15-year civil war between Frelimo and rebel group Renamo, which ended in 1992, with the rebel group later becoming an opposition party. The protests in support of Mondlane, previously a member of the Renamo party, were the largest threat to Frelimo’s rule.

Protests died down after the crackdown but violence still persists.

Mondlane this week visited the port city of Quelimane, where gunmen on Sunday shot one of his main campaign organizers, Joel Amaral. He was shot three times, including once in the head, but survived and remains in an intensive care unit in the hospital.