Antécédents de l'affaire: Imelda Urio
La défenseuse des droits humains Mme Imelda Urio et 35 autres membres du Tanzanian Civil Society Election Consortium (TACCEO) sont victimes d'acharnement policier.
Ils devaient être interrogés le 10 novembre 2015 pour la 3e fois, après avoir été convoqués pour avoir soi-disant violé la loi de 2015 sur les cyber-crimes en Tanzanie.
Imelda Urio est membre de Tanzanian Civil Society Election Consortium - TACCEO, une équipe d'observateurs d'élections créée pour surveiller le processus électoral tanzanien en 2015. TACCEO est actuellement hébergé par le secrétariat du Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), une organisation qui offre une aide juridique et sensibilise à la question des droits humains au sein de la société civile tanzanienne, par le biais de l'éducation au thème des droits humains, de la recherche et du suivi. Imelda Urio est actuellement directrice par intérim du LHRC.
Human rights defender Ms Imelda Urio and 35 other members of the Tanzanian Civil Society Election Consortium (TACCEO) have been subjected to acts of police harassment.
They were due to appear for interrogation this 10 November 2015 for the third time, after being summoned for allegedly violating the 2015 Tanzanian Cyber Crimes Act.
On 6 November 2015, the 36 human rights defenders were summoned to appear for questioning at the Central Police Station in Dar Es Salaam for the second time. They were questioned for almost eight hours. The main subject of the interrogation was the terms of reference in the TACCEO-NEC (Electoral Commission) agreement on the permission and entitlement to perform election observation and contravention of section 16 of the Cyber Crimes Act. The police purported that TACCEO carried out activities in violation of said law. The human rights defenders were later released, but were again summoned as the investigation continued.
All 36 human rights defenders were arrested on 29 October 2015 and then released on bail the same day. At approximately 2:30pm, the national police entered the TACCEO election observation centre in Kawe Beach, Dar Es Salaam and searched the place for approximately 5 hours. After a long interrogation, all 36 human rights defenders were arrested and several items of office and personal equipment were seized, including 3 laptops, 24 desktop computers, 25 office phones and 36 mobile phones. Despite their release on bail, to date none of the seized office or personal equipment has been returned to the human rights defenders.
In a statement released on 9 November 2015, the heads of several diplomatic missions in Tanzania expressed concern about the arrest of these election observers and the confiscation of their equipment. They recalled that the government of the United Republic of Tanzania had committed to applying the Cyber Crimes Act of 2015 in a manner that respects fundamental freedoms. In the harassment against the 36 election observers, the diplomats saw a clear sign that the government is starting to fall short of that commitment.
