A Tanzanian court on Friday ordered the release of opposition leader, Freeman Mbowe, after prosecutors dropped terrorism charges against him, reported Reuters.
“The director of prosecutions has dropped charges of economic crimes and terrorism,” Chadema wrote on Twitter.
Mbowe, the chairman of the Chadema party, was arrested in July last year in Mwanza along with a number of other senior party officials just hours before they were to hold a conference on proposals for a new constitution.
The court charged him on July 26, in spite of protests from his party members who claimed all the charges levied against him were politically motivated. His supporters said the case was purely a politically motivated move to crush dissent.
The 60-year-old veteran opposition leader accused police of torturing him during his nearly seven months in custody.
The Tanzanian court also freed three other accused. They were facing six charges, including conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism.
“Because the (prosecution) has submitted an intention to drop the case and the defense side has accepted it, the case is now removed from the court and I order the suspects to be released unconditionally,” said Judge Joachim Tiganga.
Mbowe also faces another charge of financing terrorism acts in the Economic Sabotage Case Number 16 of 2021 at the High Court’s Corruption and Economic Crimes Division.
On Friday, state prosecutor Robert Kidando filed a motion of no intent to continue with the case at the High Court Division of Corruption and Economic Sabotage Offences.
“We have no intention to continue with the case,” Kidando told the court.
Mbowe’s arrest and trial had raised questions about Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s commitment to greater tolerance for political dissent.
According to the Tanzanian presidency, President Hassan met with Mbowe on Friday, hours after he was set free by the court.
