Court demands 720,000 meticais bail to release 18 ND monitors – Mozambique

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Court demands 720,000 meticais bail to release 18 ND monitors – Mozambique

3:18 CAT | 28 Nov 2019

Image: Nova Democracia

Chokwe Court is demanding a total of 720,000 meticais (€10,000 euros) for the provisional release of the 18 members of New Democracy detained on election day in Mozambique, a party source told Lusa on Wednesday.

“They set bail at 40,000 meticais bail per person. It is a very high amount for us. These are low-income people, most of them still at school,” national representative of the New Democracy (opposition) party Quitéria Gueringuane said.

At stake is the arrest of the 18 members of the New Democracy party, 17 of them party delegates and one a district representative. They were detained on October 15, the day of the sixth general election, in Chokwe, Gaza province, for allegedly falsifying election observer credentials.

The amount, which is to be paid within five days, was announced by the district court on Wednesday at a meeting which brought together defence lawyers and representatives of the public prosecution, the police and electoral bodies in Chokwe, Gaza province.

The 18 members of the New Democracy party are being held in Xai-Xai, the provincial capital of Gaza, in the south of the country.

New Democracy’s national representative said the party would try to raise the amount, given that there are only a few weeks left before the end of the judicial year.

“Even though this imprisonment is illegal, we will try to raise the money. We do not want the judicial year to end with our members still detained,” Gueringuane added.

Several Mozambican and international organisations have called on the Mozambican authorities to release the 18 New Democracy party members immediately and unconditionally.

The October 15 general and provincial elections gave absolute majority victories in all constituencies to the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) and its presidential candidate, Filipe Nyusi, winning all 22 parliamentary seats in Gaza with more than 90% of the vote, and confirming the province as one of the ruling party’s traditional strongholds.

Source: Lusa