The European Union on Saturday said it had recalled its chief representative in Tanzania, following reports the government there had asked him to leave.
Roeland van de Geer “has been recalled by his headquarters to Brussels to meet next week with senior officials to discuss the situation in Tanzania,” AFP quotes press officer at the EU delegation, Susanne Mbise, to have said.
The EU has in the past voiced concern over human rights violations in Tanzania, and in February it condemned incidents which it said had tarnished the East African country’s relatively good record.
February’s statement singled out the death of a student killed by a stray bullet fired by police as they broke up an opposition demonstration, and the attempted assassination several months earlier of opposition MP Tundu Lissu.
Various rights groups, including Amnesty International, have protested recent calls by local politicians to have homosexuality outlawed.
Rigts activists also claim that President John Magufuli has cracked down on dissent and freedom of expression since he took office in 2015.
