In a move to escalate global scrutiny, attorneys representing Tundu Lissu, Tanzania’s detained opposition leader, have lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, seeking his immediate release.
Lissu, who leads Tanzania’s principal opposition party and was the runner-up in the 2020 presidential election, was arrested last month on treason charges—a crime punishable by death—stemming from statements he allegedly made urging supporters to prevent the upcoming October elections from proceeding.
Tanzania’s government spokesperson has not yet issued a comment regarding the charges or the recent legal filing.
While President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been credited internationally for softening Tanzania’s historically repressive political climate, recent incidents such as the disappearance of several government critics, have cast a shadow over her administration. President Hassan, who is seeking re-election this October, has maintained that her government respects human rights and has called for a formal investigation into the reported abductions.
According to Lissu’s international legal representative, Robert Amsterdam, the submission to the U.N. working group, though confidential and non-binding is a strategic step in a broader international advocacy campaign.
The European Parliament recently passed a resolution criticizing Lissu’s arrest as politically motivated. Amsterdam noted that further measures are being considered, including lobbying the U.S. State Department to impose sanctions.
“Right down to prosecutors, judges, and police, all the people that are involved in this false show trial had better be aware that they should protect their U.S. assets,” Amsterdam told Reuters.
In response to the European Parliament’s resolution, Tanzania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the external criticisms were based on “incomplete or partisan information.” The U.S. State Department has yet to comment publicly on the matter.
Lissu, who survived a 2017 assassination attempt in which he was shot 16 times—an attack that remains unresolved—was scheduled to appear in court again on Monday.
Before his most recent court appearance, Tanzanian authorities detained two human rights activists, one Kenyan and one Ugandan, who had traveled to witness the proceedings. Days later, they were found near their respective borders. The Kenyan activist, Boniface Mwangi, alleged that both he and his Ugandan counterpart were “badly tortured” while in custody.
Tanzanian officials have not addressed the accusations of torture or the circumstances surrounding the activists’ detention. President Hassan, meanwhile, has issued a warning to the international community, stating that outsiders should refrain from “invading and interfering in our affairs.”
