A Tanzanian court has ruled that the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu will proceed, finding he has a case to answer after prosecutors presented evidence and 17 witnesses testified against him. Lissu, head of the opposition Chadema party and a long-time democracy campaigner who survived an assassination attempt in 2017, was detained in April 2025 and charged with treason — which carries a potential death penalty — over allegations that he incited voters to boycott last November's elections. Denouncing the case as politically motivated, Lissu said he intends to call senior government officials, including President Samia Suluhu Hassan, as defence witnesses; the trial comes amid international criticism of Tanzania's violent crackdown on election-related protests, in which the government acknowledges more than 500 people were killed.