========================================================== Petitioning Office of the Attorney General in Maputo Defend freedom of speech and academic freedom in Mozambique
In December 2013, the Office of the Attorney General in Maputo opened a criminal case against Mozambican economist Professor Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco, after he expressed strong criticism of the President of Mozambique in a public Facebook post. The law of Crimes Against State Security has been invoked.
Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco is a well-known Mozambican academic whose work on the country’s economic transition and extractive industries is internationally respected. He is a Professor of Economics at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, a Research Associate at SOAS, University of London, and a founding member of IESE (the Institute of Economic and Social Studies) in Maputo.
In May 2014, IESE, of which Castel-Branco is a former director, was given a peremptory eviction order from the premises it has rented since 2007. The ownership of the building has recently been transferred to a State Agency.
IESE is one of the leading independent research centres in Mozambique. Research supported or conducted by IESE has contributed to academic and policy debates about poverty reduction, democratic governance and Mozambique's developmental challenges. Since its foundation, IESE has been committed to supporting young Mozambican researchers and advancing world class Mozambican scholarship as well as hosting scholars from around the world interested in the study of Mozambique.
As academics and researchers we deplore any and all measures curtailing academic freedom in Mozambique and call on all parties to defend the right to debate and dissent.
We appeal to the Attorney General to protect fundamental civil liberties including freedom of expression, a key part of the democratic process that needs to be enhanced and consolidated in Mozambique.
Yussuf Adam, Departamento de História, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo Riccardo Bellofiore, Department of Economics, University of Bergamo, Italy David Birmingham, School of History, University of Kent Ray Bush, POLIS, University of Leeds Lídia Cabral, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex Michel Cahen, CNRS "Les Afriques dans le monde" Center, Institute for Political Studies, Bordeaux Cláudia Castelo, Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia, Universidade de Lisboa Blessings Chinsinga, Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Malawi Christopher Cramer, Department of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London Elma Doeleman, Polytechnic of Namibia, Windhoek Tomaso Ferrando, Sciences Po Law School, Paris Ben Fine, Department of Economics, SOAS, University of London Sayaka Funada-Classen, Graduate School of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Yao Graham, Third World Network-Africa, Accra Amanda J Hammar, Centre for African Studies, University of Copenhagen Paolo Israel, History Department, University of the Western Cape Deborah Johnston, Department of Economics, SOAS, University of London Kazimierz Laski, Johannes Kepler University of Linz and the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies Francisco Louçã, ISEG, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, University of Lisbon Dale T. McKinley, Independent writer, researcher and lecturer, Johannesburg, South Africa Nicolas Meisel, Agence Française de Développement William Minter, Editor, AfricaFocus Bulletin Machiko Nissanke, Department of Economics, SOAS, University of London Isabela Nogueira de Morais, Institute of Socioeconomics, University of Geneva Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University Carlos Oya, Department of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London Nicolas Pons-Vignon, School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Isabel Raposo, Faculdade Arquitectura, Universidade de Lisboa Paolo de Renzio, International Budget Partnership and Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro Simon Roberts, Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development, University of Johannesburg Alfredo Saad Filho, Department of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London Michel Samuel, Département de sociologie, Université Paris 8 John S. Saul, Department of Political Science, York University, Toronto Malcolm Sawyer, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds Ian Scoones, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex Jan Toporowski, Department of Economics, SOAS, University of London Mario Seccareccia, Department of Economics, University of Ottawa Patrice Vermeren, Département de philosophie, Université Paris 8 Immanuel Wallerstein, Sociology Department, Yale University Gavin Williams, St Peter's College, Oxford. Rosa Williams, International Studies Group, University of the Free State Philip Woodhouse, IDPM, University of Manchester
