A Tanzanian court has charged 240 people with treason after they took part in last week's violent protests, which saw President Samina Sululu Hassan elected with 98 percent of the vote, amid protests that said the election was unfair.

Most of the opposition was not allowed to participate in the election. Some of them were imprisoned and others were not allowed to register their nominations.

The opposition has commented that the result is shameful. Hundreds were killed when security forces opened fire during the protests during the election. However, government officials have ignored the violence and concluded that the election was conducted in a free and fair environment.

Those arrested during the protests are now being tried for treason. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. However, in Tanzania, those sentenced to death are usually sentenced to life imprisonment. No one has been executed here since the 1990s.