Covid-19: Police seizures “best compared with theft” – Mozambican Bar Association

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Covid-19: Police seizures “best compared with theft” – Mozambican Bar Association

5:49 CAT | 20 Jan 2021

Photo: O País

The Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) yesterday classified as “theft” the “illegal” seizure by the police of alcoholic beverages from vendors allegedly violating the government’s Covid-19 restrictions.

Chairman of the OAM Human Rights Commission, Feroza Zacarias, told Lusa that the police failed to provide evidence that they had used duly substantiated terms of seizure of the products that they confiscated in various places in Maputo city, or that the goods seized had been handled in such a manner that owners could identify their assets.

“What we saw was an action directly aimed at the seizure of alcoholic beverages in grocery stores, in total disregard for the law. What the police did is best compared with theft,” said Feroza Zacarias.

Police authorities, she continued, also provided no evidence that the assets seized over the weekend were taken to police facilities.

The lawyer also pointed out that the administrative measures imposed in the context of the prevention of the pandemic do not provide for the seizure of goods at point of sale, only determining the application of fines or closing of establishments violating the restrictions.

“It is not written, either in the measures announced by the head of state or in the administrative rules for the prevention of the pandemic, that goods for sale in duly authorised places should be seized,” the president of the OAM Human Rights Commission underlined.

Feroza Zacarias also accused the police of spreading Covid-19 by not taking health security measures during the seizure of these assets. “The police seize products at stalls and shops without wearing gloves, which makes them agents of propagation of Covid-19,” she said.

The lawyer further accused the police of detaining mothers found with children not wearing masks, when children were not legally required to use this type of protection.

“In addition to illegalities, we also have situations of authentic inhumanity, with mothers and babies detained and placed in police cars without protection from Covid-19,” she stressed.

Last weekend, images circulated of police officers removing alcoholic beverages from small grocery stores in markets in Maputo for alleged violation of Covid-19 prevention rules.

The Mozambican president on the 13th of this month announced the tightening of restrictions in view of the rise of Covid-19 cases in the country, cutting trading and catering hours, closing some establishments and cultural spaces and closing beaches.

Among the measures announced, those wishing to enter the country now need a negative Covid-19 test, without exception. The measure applies “to all travellers”, the president stipulated, calling on everybody to stay up to date on the rules in force in all countries to which they might be contemplating travel.
Mozambique has seen 253 Covid-19 deaths among 28,270 cases, and 19,132 full recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health’s Tuesday press release.

PRM nega ter violado a lei ao recolher produtos de vendedores e atira culpa à Polícia Municipal

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused at least 2,041,289 deaths from more than 95.4 million cases of infection worldwide, according to a report by the French AFP press agency. The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus detected in late December 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China.

Source: Lusa