Senior officers arrested after cell deaths

Three senior police officers in Mozambique have been arrested after 13 people suffocated to death while imprisoned in an overcrowded police cell in Nampula.
The officers have been criticised for the decision to hold as many as 48 people in a cell designed to hold ten prisoners and which did not have sufficient ventilation. An investigation after the deaths concluded that the prisoners died as a result of suffocation.
The bodies were discovered in the cell at the police station last week.
It was initially reported that 12 detainees had died but the Mozambican Human Rights League [LMDH] has said that the number was at least 13.
Nampula provincial governor, Felismino Tocoli, criticised the police’s decision to imprison the people despite having a lack of facilities to do so. He called the officers’ actions “inhumane” to incarcerate so many people in a small cell with just one small opening for ventilation.
There have since been calls for the country’s interior minister, Jose Pacheo, to resign from his position following the deaths.
Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Mozambique`s Renamo opposition party, called for Mr Pacheo’s resignation and said that the police had lost control in an area where they are supposed to be in charge.
Human rights groups have also criticised the incident, claiming that there have previously been warnings about the overcrowded conditions in Mozambican prison cells.
Amnesty International has called for the country`s authorities to urgently investigate the deaths. The organisation is especially concerned about the over-crowded conditions in which the detainees were being held.
“The investigation should determine the precise circumstances in which the deaths occurred and the degree of responsibility of the police authorities at all levels,” said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International`s Africa Director. 
”The truth must be uncovered and appropriate remedial action taken, including bringing to justice anyone suspected of responsibility for this grave human rights violation, and ensuring adequate compensation for the victims` families.”
There have been allegations that the deaths could have been caused by an outbreak of violence within the cell – but the investigation determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation.
The prisoners had been held after several members of staff from the Red Cross were killed. Three volunteers and several police officers were killed by angry mobs who suspected that health staff were responsible for spreading Cholera in the area.
It was reported that the attacks on Red Cross staff began when a rumour spread that they were infecting wells and fountains with the disease. In fact, the volunteers were treating the wells with chlorine.