UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Determines Detention of Tanzanian Opposition Leader Tundu Lissu Is Arbitrary After Amsterdam & Partners LLP Application, Calls for His Immediate Release and Compensation

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amsterdam & Partners LLP today announces that following its application to the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), the Working Group has issued Opinion No. 74/2025, finding that the detention of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Antiphas Mughwai Lissu is arbitrary under categories I, II, III and V, and calling on the Government of Tanzania to release him immediately and provide compensation and other reparations.

In its decision, the UNWGAD concludes that Mr. Lissu’s deprivation of liberty contravenes multiple provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including safeguards relating to liberty and security, freedom of expression and assembly, participation in public affairs, non-discrimination, and fair trial rights. The UNWGAD further finds that Tanzania’s reliance on mandatory pretrial detention on the basis of a non-bailable treason charge, without any individualised assessment of necessity, is incompatible with international human rights law.

The UNWGAD also identifies serious due process violations, including concerns regarding timely and confidential access to counsel, interference with lawyer-client communications, and obstacles to public access to proceedings through intimidation and violence. The UNWGAD states that, given its finding of arbitrariness under category II, the scheduled trial should not proceed.

The UNWGAD’s recommended remedy is clear: immediate release and an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, alongside a full and independent investigation and measures against those responsible for the violations. The UNWGAD has requested follow-up information from the Government within six months regarding implementation, including release, reparations, investigations, and any legal reforms to align Tanzanian law and practice with international obligations.

Robert Amsterdam, Founder and Managing Partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, states:

“The United Nations Working Group has issued a decisive finding: Tundu Lissu’s detention is arbitrary and unlawful under international human rights instruments. The appropriate remedy is immediate release, compensation and other reparations, and an independent investigation into how this abuse occurred.

Tanzania is a party to the ICCPR. Compliance is not optional. The Government must implement this decision without delay, end the misuse of treason and mandatory detention against political opponents, and restore the minimum guarantees required by the rule of law.”

Amsterdam & Partners LLP calls on Tanzania’s international partners, including donor governments and multilateral institutions, to press for prompt implementation of today’s decision and to make clear that continued non-compliance will carry consequences.

Amsterdam & Partners serves as longtime international counsel to Mr Lissu and CHADEMA, the political party he leads. Over the last months, Amsterdam & Partners has been engaged in various advocacy efforts aimed at securing Mr. Lissu's release, and will continue to do so.

Amsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm specialising in political advocacy and human rights, based in London and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.amsterdamandpartners.com. Media enquiries may be directed to contact@amsterdamandpartners.com.