Tanzanian police question Australian women’s rights activist



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Zara Kay, born in Tanzania, is the founder of an organization that helps women leaving Islam

Australian women’s rights activist Zara Kay is being questioned by Tanzanian authorities about her citizenship, her lawyer confirmed to the BBC.

Benedict Ishabakaki told the BBC that the Tanzanian-born activist reported to police as required in the morning, but was then transferred to the immigration department.

The Tanzanian authorities accuse Ms. Kay of not having renounced her Tanzanian citizenship by returning her passport to her after acquiring Australian citizenship.

Dual citizenship is illegal in Tanzania.

Her lawyer says she did not return her Tanzanian passport because she lost it.

“She does not use the Tanzanian passport. She entered Tanzania before her arrest using an Australian passport, ”her lawyer said.

The activist tweeted on December 28 that she was on her way to the police station after “someone reported me for blasphemy”.

She is the founder of Faithless Hijabi – a group that helps women who face recriminations for renouncing Islam.

She was released on bail the next day and the International Coalition of Ex-Muslims released a statement saying she faced three counts, including criticism of the Tanzanian president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Twitter. and the use of a SIM card that was not registered in his name.

However, Tanzanian police chief Simon Sirro did not mention two of the charges during his interview with reporters on Monday, simply saying that she was being questioned about her citizenship status.



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