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Amnesty International urges PGR to investigate the disappearance of Arlindo Chissale
2:27 CAT | 21 Mar 2025
File photo: ai_meinungsfrei/X
Amnesty International (AI) is demanding an urgent investigation by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) into the disappearance of journalist Arlindo, who has been missing since January.
In a letter dated March 17, 2025, addressed to the Attorney General, Américo Letela, AI demands that Chissale’s fate and whereabouts be revealed, and that the actions to clarify the case be clear, transparent and impartial.
The disappearance of Chissale, a journalist and supporter of the political project of the main opponent of the ruling party, Venâncio Mondlane, was widely reported.
“I call on you to ensure that Arlindo Chissale’s enforced disappearance is promptly, thoroughly, independently, impartially, transparently and effectively investigated with his fate and whereabouts disclosed. Anyone suspected of being responsible should be brought to justice in fair trials. Authorities must follow up all existing leads to publicly clarify where Arlindo Chissale is, and how and why he was forcibly disappeared,” the AI letter reads.
In the same document, AI criticises the fact that, although the family and witnesses filed a complaint with the Police of the Republic of Mozambique in Cabo Delgado, there has been no clarification as to any investigation taking place, or even having been initiated.
It also regrets the apparent lack of coordination between the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) and the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), given that the police reportedly said that the case had been forwarded to SERNIC, but with the latter declining to acknowledge any letter on the matter having been received.
Full text of Amnesty International’s letter:
Journalist’s disappearance must be investigated: Arlindo Chissale
- Mozambican journalist and politician Arlindo Chissale, 46, has not been seen since 7 January. Witnesses who spoke with Arlindo Chissale’s family revealed that on 7 January, they saw him being removed from a public minibus and beaten before being driven away by alleged members of the defense and security forces. On 16 January, his family filed a complaint at the 2nd police station in Pemba, Cabo Delgado, but to date, authorities have not publicly announced any investigation initiated or underway, despite the leads and testimonies from his family. This is not the first case of a journalist disappearing in Cabo Delgado. The Mozambican authorities must urgently locate Arlindo Chissale and investigate the circumstances of his enforced disappearance and reveal his fate and whereabouts.
Prosecutor General of the Republic
Américo Julião Letela
Av. Vladimir Lenine nr. 121
Maputo, Mozambique
Email [email protected]
Dear Prosecutor General,
I am writing to you to express my concern about the enforced disappearance of journalist and politician Arlindo Chissale (46), and the lack of any public communication from the authorities about the start or
progress of any investigation into his case or the failure to reveal his fate and whereabouts.
On 7 January, Arlindo Chissale left his home in Pemba, Cabo Delgado for Nacala, Nampula. According to his family, his wife was the last to communicate with him at around 5:00 p.m., when he was in the Silva Macua village. Witnesses saw Arlindo Chissale being removed from the public minibus he was in and taken away by a group of men, three of whom were dressed in military uniforms at around 5:30 p.m.. Witnesses then told his family they saw him being beaten and forced into a second vehicle, a white car with no license plates. Arlindo Chissale has not been seen since.
On 16 January, his family filed a complaint with the authorities at the 2nd Police Station of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Pemba, Cabo Delgado. On 29 January, the Media Institute for Southern Africa – MISA Mozambique, asked the Ministries of Defense and Interior to clarify, with the utmost urgency, the alleged involvement of agents of the Defense and Security Forces (members of the PRM and military) in Arlindo’s Chissale’s enforced disappearance. On 8 February, his family reported that his phone had been switched on. When the family called, the call went through, but no one answered. The next day, on 9 February, the phone was turned off. On 10 February, the spokeswoman for the PRM in Cabo Delgado province had confirmed that Arlindo Chissale’s case had been forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC). However, the spokesman for SERNIC in Cabo Delgado later revealed that he had not received any letter relating to Arlindo Chissale’s case.
I call on you to ensure that Arlindo Chissale’s enforced disappearance is promptly, thoroughly, independently, impartially, transparently and effectively investigated with his fate and whereabouts disclosed. Anyone suspected to be responsible should be brought to justice in fair trials. Authorities must follow up all existing leads to publicly clarify where Arlindo Chissale is, and how and why he was forcibly disappeared.
Yours sincerely,
Wo ist Arlindo #Chissale ? Der Journalist aus #Mosambik ist seit dem 7. Januar verschwunden. Er wurde er aus einem öffentlichen Kleinbus geholt, geschlagen und von Angehörigen der Streit- und Sicherheitskräfte weggefahren! https://t.co/qjjj9R5lfK
— AI Meinungsfreiheit (@ai_meinungsfrei) March 18, 2025
Source: MzNews / Amnesty International
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