Tanzania court jails opposition leader for incitement, lifts treason charge
A Tanzanian court has jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu for four years on a charge of incitement, while dismissing a treason charge that carried the threat of a death sentence.
The judge told a courtroom packed with Lissu’s supporters that the opposition leader’s statements were intended to disrupt elections and instigate violence.
We are satisfied that through his statements, the accused intended to disrupt elections and instigate violence.
Lissu, who has spent 19 months in jail, responded that the trial was "political persecution". He accused the judges of following orders from the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Security was heightened across the commercial capital, Dar-es-Salaam, and around the court before the verdict, as Lissu’s supporters gathered for the hearing.
International condemnation
The case has drawn criticism from British and European Union lawmakers, who described it as politically motivated and called for Lissu’s immediate release.
The dismissal of the treason charge means Lissu avoids the threat of a death penalty. The judge added that the doors are open for appeal.
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