Tanzania: Authorities weaponize counterterrorism laws to restrict civic space amid pervasive impunity over violent election crackdown
Tanzanian authorities have failed to hold anyone accountable for the violence security forces inflicted on protesters, which left hundreds dead and thousands injured in the wake of the 2025 general election, Amnesty International said. Instead of delivering justice, authorities have withheld a Commission of Inquiry report and intensified attacks on civic space by weaponizing counterterrorism laws to silence critics. Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, highlighted documented cases of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and severe restrictions on media freedom, urging authorities to drop all unjust terrorism charges immediately.