Africa-Press – Mozambique. The financial advisor to Mozambican politician Venâncio Mondlane, in pre-trial detention since March, and 11 others detained in the same case, were acquitted by the Maputo City Judicial Court, the former presidential candidate said yesterday.
“Today we had a great victory. Glória Nobre is definitively free of all the crimes she was illegally, falsely, and unlawfully accused of,” Venâncio Mondlane said live on his Facebook page.
Glória Nobre had been charged with attempted violent alteration of the rule of law, criminal association and conspiracy against state security.
According to Mondlane, during the hearing of Glória Nobre Chire, arrested on March 13th at her residence in Maputo, and the other 11 defendants, including Alex Barga, a writer and supporter of the former presidential candidate, the investigating judge “in all her decisions, all her interpretations, all her readings”, always cited the law.
“Even if there was an element of political pressure, I note that at no point in the decision she made did the judge display any element of politics,” he stated.
The court’s decision is based, according to the Mozambican politician, on the fact that it was proven that all evidence was obtained illegally and in flagrant violation of formalities, including the obtaining of confidential banking documents without proper judicial authorization, the illegal detention of the defendants at their residence due to the absence of a court order, and the tampering with the dates of the court records, among other things.
Mondlane also stated that it is legitimate to open a case against the state for the illegal detentions.
“Today, the judge herself said that, given the illegal manner in which the evidence, or alleged evidence, was collected, there is room not only for compensation but also for the criminal liability of those who were investigating this case, especially the police, who even used torture to obtain confessions and evidence,” Mondlane said.
Glória Monteiro Nobre Chire, 59, a retired accountant, was, until her arrest, in charge of the finances of Venâncio Mondlane, the former presidential candidate who led the largest challenge to the election results Mozambique had seen since the first multi-party elections in 1994.
The Maputo City Judicial Court had already ordered the release of Mondlane’s financial advisor on September 5th, the former presidential candidate told Lusa at the time, considering the matter a “political case”.
“This confirms what we always said, that it was a political case, because now it is the Public Prosecutor’s Office that is acquitting her of the crimes of which they accused her,” Mondlane said at the time.
In July, the politician, who had also been sworn in as a State Councillor, was charged by the Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office with five crimes related to the post-election demonstrations, including incitement to collective disobedience and incitement to terrorism.
From October 2024 until March, Mozambique experienced a climate of intense social unrest, with demonstrations and strikes called by the former presidential candidate, who rejected the results of the October 9 presidential election, which saw Daniel Chapo, supported by the ruling Frelimo party, sworn in as the country’s fifth president.
Around 400 people died as a result of clashes with the police, conflicts that ended after meetings between Mondlane and Chapo on March 23 and May 20, aimed at pacifying the country.
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