Africa-Press – Mozambique. The lawyer for the two South African citizens detained in Mozambique three weeks ago for alleged “indications of support for terrorism” has asked the investigating judge for their provisional release, he told Lusa on Friday.
“We have requested the provisional release of my two clients, after the legalisation of the arrest by the investigating judge,” said Abílio Macuácua, having already on Wednesday denied the accusations and said that the detainees were “paying the price of philanthropy”.
Macuácua maintained that, legally, all requirements for them to await advances in the case while at liberty have been fulfilled.
“In the context in which everything is happening, namely the fragility of the evidence and their total readiness to collaborate with justice, it is not complicated to grant provisional release,” he argued.
The lawyer expressed concern about the state of health of one of the detainees, who is 71 and suffers from diabetes and hypertension.
“He has not suffered any crisis since he has been in prison, and has been seen by the [internal] health staff, but we are concerned, because he has a condition that requires special care not always possible in Mozambican prisons,” he added.
The two South Africans and an American pilot are being held in the maximum security prison in Maputo province after being detained three weeks ago in Inhambane for alleged “signs of support for terrorism” in the north of the country.
The three intended to transport by air food and pesticides destined for an orphanage of the Águas Vivas Church, in Balama district, Cabo Delgado province.
“They would have to be very naive to submit goods intended for terrorists for scanning [electronic inspection] at the aerodrome,” Macuácua speculated.
Lusa contacted the Mozambican police about the case, but the corporation has yet to respond.
Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency for five years with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
The insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts surrounding the province’s gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.
The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.
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