Murder of Mozambican public prosecutor exposes “extreme insecurity” – Human Rights Commission

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Murder of Mozambican public prosecutor exposes “extreme insecurity” – Human Rights Commission

1:01 CAT | 13 Apr 2016

The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) in Mozambique said on Tuesday that the murder of public prosecutor Marcelino Vilankulo exposes the “extreme insecurity” of how the Mozambican judiciary lives, and demanded the strengthening of protection for the profession.

“His barbaric and gruesome murder, in addition to prematurely ending the life of a noble man committed to the functioning of the judiciary that he represented with integrity, is an affront to the judicial administration system as a whole, and once again exposes the extreme insecurity in which our magistrates live,” the CNDH said in a statement sent to Lusa in Maputo.

The CNDH calls on the top levels of the judiciary to reconsider and strengthen the security of its members, given the hostile environment now existing in the country.

Marcelino Vilankulo, a magistrate in the city of Maputo, was killed on Monday night by unknown assailants on the outskirts of the capital while driving home.

According to Mozambique newspaper Notícias, the magistrate was in charge of investigations into abductions allegedly involving Danish Satar. Danish is the nephew of Nini Satar, who is on probation after serving a sentence for participation in the 2000 murder of journalist Carlos Cardoso.

Danish Satar was deported from Italy to Mozambique at the end of last year, after leaving the country in dubious circumstances, in the light of the fact that he was on provisional release pending his trial on charges of involvement in abductions.

In 2014, Judge Diniz Silica, who was handling cases related to the wave of kidnappings in Maputo, was shot dead in broad daylight in the Mozambican capital by unknown individuals still at large.

Maputo has been plagued by a wave of kidnappings since 2012, which, despite several people being sentenced to heavy prison terms for their involvement, remains a relatively frequent crime in some Mozambican cities, especially in Maputo. Dozens of victims are reported to have been released on payment of ransoms.

The General Command of Police of Mozambique said yesterday that it had made “deployments” throughout the province of Maputo to find the Mozambican magistrate’s killers.

“Forensic work to get the perpetrators of this crime is ongoing, work complementary to that which was started yesterday [Monday] shortly after the crime. Police will scour Maputo province in its entirety to find the perpetrators,” a police spokesman said yesterday.

Source: Lusa