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Lawyers
still in unlawful detention
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
February 11, 2009
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) wishes to express its concern and condemn
the ongoing harassment of human rights defenders through indiscriminate
arrests and detention.
Ms Roselyn
Hanzi and Mr Tawanda Zhuwarara, project lawyers at ZLHR, were arrested
by unidentified members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) on
10 February 2009 as they were returning to the office (situated
next to the Parliament building) after lunch. Regrettably, they
were caught in the crossfire of further indiscriminate arrests carried
out by the ZRP arising from a demonstration outside Parliament building
in Harare by the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). With the complicity
of Parliamentary staff, they were unlawfully detained in the Parliament
Guard Room, until police details removed them to Harare Central
police station.
In contravention
of constitutional protective provisions relating to detained persons,
but in the customary fashion of the ZRP, lawyers who attempted to
get access to Hanzi and Zhuwarara at Harare Central were denied
access by the police. Superintendent Chinhengo, the Officer in Charge
of Operations at Harare Central ordered the lawyers out of the police
station's vicinity.
Despite further
attempts by ZLHR to have their colleagues released, the two were
detained overnight at Harare Central Police Station without their
lawyers being able to speak to them, or being told the charges against
them.
On 11 February
2009, ZLHR lawyers were finally able to have access to them. Despite
members of the Law and Order section acknowledging that the two
were "caught in the crossfire", Detective Inspector
Elliot Muchada, instructed Detective Assistant Inspector Phiri (female)
and DC Musademba to proceed to charge them, together with 8 women
who were also arrested outside Parliament, with contravening section
37(1)(b) of the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Act. They are likely to spend
a second night in custody.
ZLHR unreservedly condemns
the now commonplace and illegal phenomenon of members of the ZRP
indiscriminately and without reasonable suspicion arresting and
detaining innocent civilians and then denying lawyers access to
their clients and barring them from taking proper instructions.
The arrest and
detention of lawyers together with alleged WOZA
members is a clear indication that basic freedoms in the country
remain circumscribed; that the continued detention and violation
of such rights occurred at the very time that the inclusive government
was being established merely indicates that we have a long way to
go before there is return to the rule of law and respect for the
Constitution
of Zimbabwe.
ZLHR further remains
gravely concerned that Parliament allowed itself to be used in the
facilitation of a criminal offence, whereby unlawful arrests and
detention were perpetuated as the lawyers were detained on its premises.
The continued
breach of various provisions of the Interparty
Political Agreement signed on 15 September 2008, in which the
three political parties represented in Parliament undertook to protect
the security of persons and to ensure that fundamental rights and
freedoms would be respected, must be condemned in the strongest
of terms.
ZLHR calls upon the police
and the appropriate commanding authorities to see to it that immediate
action is taken to release Ms Hanzi and Mr Zhuwarara together with
the WOZA members and that the offending individuals are made to
answer for their unlawful actions.
Visit the ZLHR
fact
sheet
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