Rights group accuses Malawi police of extrajudicial killings
A report by a civil rights group has accused Malawian police of carrying out extrajudicial killings in a systematic campaign against hardcore criminals dubbed "operation elimination".
Chikondi Chijozi, Deputy Director of the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) said Sunday the report had been handed over to the country's ombudsman, Martha Chizuma, for urgent action.
"The findings of the research are quite alarming to us," Chijozi said.
"We thought it would be important to submit it to the office of the ombudsman so that they do a thorough investigation to find out what happened to the 28 people that died under very suspicious circumstances."
"The study found that 28 of the alleged victims were confirmed to have been shot by the police and died in very suspicious circumstances, three of whom were alleged to have died in a road accident but they also had gunshot wounds. One alleged victim was found alive," she added.
The report released Friday in Blantyre, the commercial capital of the poor southeast African country, said there had been reports in recent years of extrajudicial killings by the Malawi police of former prisoners and those suspected, charged, tried or convicted of serious violent crimes including armed robbery in a systematic plan to eliminate hardcore criminals.
The study was undertaken in November and December 2018. The findings were based on interviews with relatives and friends of the alleged victims and with some police officers.
Elsewhere in her remarks, Chijozi said that CHREAA conducted the study to investigate allegations of 43 extrajudicial killings by the Malawi Police Service.
The names of the 43 were provided by an ex-prisoner who alleged that police had targeted him and three others for elimination.
They survived "when the police aborted the mission after they discovered that there were people around" at the planned venue for the hit, she said.
According to Chijozi, three of the four were killed during a second attempt.
In October, the police service came under fire after some officers were accused of sexually abusing women while quelling protests in the capital Lilongwe and in Msundwe, a trading outpost west of Lilongwe.
Barbara Banda, head of the Gender Coordination Network rights group, has also urged the authorities to "ensure thorough investigation into the... alleged rape, defilement and torture of innocent women and girls".
South Africa to file detailed dossier with top UN court on Israeli genocide
Putin: BRICS, not the West, will drive global economic prosperity
Pentagon says completed US military withdrawal from Niger
Lindsey Graham threatens to sanction US allies backing ICC arrest warrants
VIDEO | Tens of thousands of Catalans protest to demand access to better housing
Israel launches air strikes on Syria-Lebanon border crossing
Russia: Comprehensive deal with Iran will include defense, security ties
VIDEO | Israeli embassy shooting in Jordan leaves gunman dead, 3 police injured
VIDEO | Paris march in support of Palestine women
VIDEO | ICC issues arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister, ousted regime war minister
120 Palestinians perish as Israeli war machine keeps ravaging Gaza
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
