Key facts
- Tundu Lissu, leader of Tanzania's CHADEMA opposition party, has begun a hunger strike.
- Lissu is protesting his inability to access his lawyers privately.
- He was charged with treason last year and pleaded not guilty.
- The court is scheduled to deliver a judgment in his case on November 6.
NAIROBI, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who faces treason charges, has started a hunger strike to protest his inability to access his lawyers, his party said. Lissu, leader of the CHADEMA opposition party, began refusing food on Monday after his lawyers were denied entry to the prison where he is being held, according to party spokesperson Brenda Rupia. The Tanzania Prisons Service said it would provide an update soon. Lissu was charged with treason over a speech allegedly calling for rebellion and disruption of last year's general election. He pleaded not guilty, with his lawyer calling the charges politically motivated. The court is scheduled to deliver its judgment on November 6.