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Release of Torture Videos Prompts Denials by Mozambican Authorities

Salem Solomon

   WASHINGTON/MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE - A video that appears to show Mozambican
   security forces torturing and possibly killing militants is prompting
   calls for investigations, as well as denials from government officials.

   [1]Amnesty International obtained five videos and three photos it says
   were taken in the restive Cabo Delgado region. The images have been
   analyzed by the group's Crisis Evidence Lab, which believes they are
   authentic and were taken in the first six months of 2020.

   Brian Castner, Amnesty International's senior crisis adviser for arms
   and military operations, told VOA that one video shows soldiers
   cheering while bound detainees are kicked and beaten with rifle butts.

   "In one case, one of the soldiers cuts the ear off one of the
   detainees, presents it to him while people cheer," Castner said. "In
   another case, they threaten to light the body on fire or light the
   person on fire here while they're still alive."

     Security forces in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique filmed themselves
     torturing, beheading, and mutilating the bodies of opposition
     fighters. Some of the worst videos I've ever seen. My colleagues and
     I verified them as legit: [2]https://t.co/5jHrhOMOdF
     -- Brian Castner (@Brian_Castner) [3]September 9, 2020

   On Thursday, Omar Saranga, the spokesperson for Mozambique's defense
   ministry, said that the images should be viewed with skepticism. The
   military attire in these videos and images "should not be taken for
   certain and are [not] accurate," he told reporters, speaking in
   Portuguese at a press conference in Maputo.

   The assailants appear to be from the Mozambique Armed Defense Forces
   (FADM) and the Mozambique Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR), based on their
   uniforms, Amnesty said.

   Saranga said that extremist groups and insurgents seek to discredit
   security forces by wearing their attire.

   "One of the tactics used by terrorists in their macabre incursions
   against the population is to pretend to be elements of the defense and
   security forces in an attempt to confuse or mislead national and
   international public opinion," he said.

   The rights group's researchers didn't take "the nature of the
   reductionist propaganda" into account, Saranga said, adding that the
   aim of the terrorist groups is "to denigrate the image of the defense
   and security forces."

   Outside investigation

   Despite the government's stance, Amnesty believes it is essential for
   an impartial body to conduct a thorough investigation.

   "The next step is that the government does need to do a real
   investigation and not a whitewash investigation, an immediate denial,
   not calling it 'fake news' or whatever else. They need to do a real
   investigation," Castner said. "And that doesn't mean the police and the
   army investigating themselves, but an outside office and outside
   investigative arm of the government."

   The motive for the attacks appears to be retaliation, Castner added. In
   one of the videos, a soldier appears to refer to his deployment to the
   region, saying, "I'm here because of you."

   "They're not asking any questions," Castner said. "This is not an
   interrogation. It definitely seems to be punishment in at least one of
   the videos."

   The region in northern Mozambique is home to some of the largest liquid
   natural gas extraction projects on the continent. It has also become
   extremely violent in recent years, with 1,854 deaths from organized
   violent attacks since 2017, according to the Armed Conflict Location &
   Event Data Project.

References

   1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/09/mozambique-torture-by-security-forces-in-gruesome-videos-must-be-investigated/
   2. https://t.co/5jHrhOMOdF
   3. https://twitter.com/Brian_Castner/status/1303657178004443136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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