president of the Higher Communications Council considered the trial “unwise and unnecessary,” as it was a “clear sign of violation of freedom of expression.” On this occasion, civil society in Mozambique organised a debate on 25 August 2015, in repudiation of their trial. The debate was organised in conjunction with the IREX Programme for the Strengthening of the Media, IBIS and Sekelekani. The charges brought by the public prosecutor seriously violated the rights of freedom of expression and of the press set out in Article No. 48 of the Constitution. Convicting economist Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco, and journalists Fernando Mbanze and Fernando Veloso could be seen as political and legal intimidation aimed against freedom of expression and of speech. The article written by economist Nuno Castel-Branco expresses only his opinion, without any association to any institution to which he is connected. Since this is a case involving a former Head of State, convicting the economist, as the author of a crime against state security, would in essence be state condemnation of an offence arising from an opinion, a crime not foreseen in the Mozambican legal and constitutional system. Condemning Nuno Castel-Branco would have a serious impact and repercussions on the exercise of freedom of expression and of the press in Mozambique, as well as on the practice of open public debate on crucial issues of national political life, producing the socalled political-legal chilling effect on freedom of expression and of speech. Migration from analogue to digital The digital migration process in Mozambique took its first steps on November 7, 2010, with the adoption by the Council of Ministers of the DVB-T2 technology standard and the subsequent creation of the National Digital Migration Commission, COMID, which, among other things was responsible for drafting the National Strategy for the Migration from Analogue to Digital Broadcasting. Until today Mozambique does not have a legal framework that regulates broadcasting. From 2011 until the end of 2013, COMID established the premises for the implementation of the digital migration process in Mozambique, especially the holding of workshops for the Dissemination of the Digital Migration Strategy in the capitals of all provinces, negotiations with StarTimes Software Technology Co. of China to finance the construction of the digital network and the creation of the Transport, Multiplexing and Transmission company, TMT, an organisation created by the public companies Televisão de Moçambique (TVM), Rádio Moçambique (RM) and Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TDM). The implementation of this network is an alternative to the network project that will be built by StarTimes Software 48 So This is Democracy? 2015