30 April 2008
London — The human rights organisation Amnesty International has alleged in a report issued on Tuesday that the Mozambican police are killing and torturing people with near total impunity.
According to Michelle Kagari, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme, "police in Mozambique seem to think they have a licence to kill and the weak police accountability system allows for this".
Kagari said that "in almost all cases of human rights violations by police - including unlawful killings - no investigation into the case and no disciplinary action against those responsible has been undertaken, nor has any police officer been prosecuted."
Amnesty argues that the Mozambican police face numerous challenges stemming from high crime rates, a backlog of criminal cases in the judicial system, and violence against police by criminals. Amnesty says that this has led to public pressure on the police to act forcefully against criminals, and claims that this lies behind the unlawful killing of suspects by police officers.
Kagari is clear about the way forward, stating that "any officer suspected of involvement in human rights violations must be held to account. Police officers must be made aware that they cannot torture, beat and kill with impunity. They must be held responsible for their actions if policing is ever going to change for the better in Mozambique".
The Amnesty report urges the Mozambican authorities to take steps to stop human rights violations from occurring in the first place, and recommends the revision of the police codes of conduct to bring them in line with international standards.
The report concludes that "the safeguards and police accountability systems currently in place in Mozambique do not prevent human rights violations by the police. As long as the situation remains as it is, human rights violations committed by the police will continue with impunity".
Amnesty expressed grave concern at "the prevalence of excessive use of force, extrajudicial executions and torture and other ill-treatment committed by Mozambican police. In order to bring an end to such violations, disciplinary procedures must be respected and other accountability mechanisms strengthened to make them more effective".
The report calls for rigorous independent investigations into allegations of violations. "Any officers suspected of involvement in human rights violations must be held to account and information must be provided to the public concerning actions taken against police officers", it stresses.
The police do, however, regularly report cases of officers dismissed from the force on disciplinary and criminal grounds - but Amnesty is correct to note that little information is made available about what, if anything, subsequently happens in such cases.
But the picture is not entirely bleak, and police who commit murder are sometimes hauled before the courts. At the moment, as confirmed by Attorney-General Augusto Paulino before the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, three policemen accused of the summary execution of prisoners in April 2007 on a sports field in the Maputo suburb of Costa dos Sol are under arrest and face criminal proceedings.
The Mozambican police have not yet reacted to the report. Indeed a police spokesman interviewed on Tuesday by the independent television station STV said he knew nothing about the report, and had not seen a copy.
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