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Abductees trial Monday 8th June - Peace Watch
Veritas
June 07, 2009

Trial of political abductees on Monday 8th June at 10 am

The first of the political abductees trials is due to start in the High Court on Monday. This comes seven months after their abductions last October. Being brought to trial are Concillia Chinanzvavana, Fidelis Chiramba, Violet Mupfuranhewe and Collen Mutemagau. They are charged with recruiting Tapera Mupfuranhewe and other MDC-T party youths to undergo military training in Botswana for the purpose of committing acts of insurgency, banditry, sabotage or terrorism in Zimbabwe, alternatively, with persuading the same persons to undergo training.

Witnesses called to testify in trial allege torture

Terry Musona, Lloyd Tarumbwa and Fani Tembo, who have been called to give evidence against Concilia et al, were abducted at the same time last October and were among those listed as "enforced disappearances". In mid-January the police admitted holding them and said they were in "protective custody" as State witnesses against the other abductees. After lawyers got them out of police custody in early March they all signed affidavits saying they had been tortured and made to sign statements implicating the others.

On 2nd June they were brought to Harare by the police against their will and allegedly threatened that they had to testify in line with their statements or face serious consequences. Their lawyers promptly launched a High Court application to prevent their being called as witnesses on the ground that their statements had been extracted after torture by State security agents during their long and unlawful detention. The application was heard by Judge President Rita Makarau. After hearing detailed evidence from one of the three abductees, the Judge President gave her personal assurance to all three that if they spoke the truth when giving evidence they would be protected by the law, would suffer no harm and would not be compelled to adhere to their previous statements if those statements were not true. The application to prevent their testifying was then withdrawn.

International award for doctor working against torture in Zimbabwe

Dr. Douglas Gwatidzo, Chairperson of Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights [ZADHR], has received the prestigious Jonathan Mann Award for Health and Human Rights from the Global Health Council in recognition of his and ZADHR's work for health rights and freedom from torture in Zimbabwe. The Global Health Council also commended the Dr Gwatidzo and other members of ZADHR for not only providing medical documentation and care for victims of organised violence and torture, but also for their work in supporting health workers in Zimbabwe's collapsed health system and their mentoring of young medical students.

In Memoriam

Tiananmen Square Twentieth Anniversary

The 4th June was the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing in 1989, in which hundreds [perhaps thousands - figures were suppressed] of people protesting for democratic reform were killed by Government forces. There were early reports of Chinese Red Cross sources giving a figure of 2,600 deaths, but the Chinese Red Cross has denied ever doing so. The official Chinese government figure is 241 dead, including soldiers, and 7,000 wounded. The Chinese Government has never allowed an independent investigation into the crushing of the protests. The protests were sparked by the death of a pro-democracy and anti-corruption official, Hu Yaobang, whom protesters wanted to mourn. By the eve of Hu's funeral, 1,000,000 people had gathered in Tiananmen Square. Large-scale protests also occurred in cities throughout China, including Shanghai. This year hundreds of police and guards were present in Tiananmen Square on the anniversary of the massacre, but still some people came quietly to the Square to mourn. A reported 150,000 people in Hong Kong attended a candlelight vigil on Thursday night to mark the anniversary.

Tajudeen Abdul Raheem

Tajudeen Abdul Raheem, pan-Africanist and worker for social justice and peace in Africa, was killed in a car accident on Africa Day. As well as his work with heads of states, the UN and the AU, he promoted community projects such as schools, rural Internet access, community radio and rural libraries. He was a strong advocate for women's rights and uplifting women from poverty. A tribute from FEMNET reads: "He greatly supported our work as a true pan-African believing that Africa cannot change for the better unless the women of Africa are equal partners in the development process. He was a true voice for the voiceless in Africa and the majority of these are women." His work for peace made him powerful enemies as he worked against military rule in Africa, armed struggles and the arms trade. Tributes to him have been pouring in from hundreds of friends and admirers from all over Africa.

ICC arrest warrant will not be enforced while Sudanese president is in Zimbabwe

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who faces arrest world-wide for crimes against humanity and war crimes under an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court [ICC], arrived in Zimbabwe on Saturday for the current COMESA Summit. Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Chinamasa said he will not be arrested while in Zimbabwe, because Zimbabwe is not a State party to the Statute of Rome [the international treaty establishing the ICC].

The International Criminal Court [ICC]

The International Criminal Court [ICC] in The Hague is an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC is based on the Rome Statute, an international treaty joined by 108 countries [including 9 SADC countries: South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Tanzania, DRC and Malawi]. The Rome Statute is binding only on those States which formally express their consent to be bound by its provisions. These States then become "Parties" to the Statute. The Statute came into force on 1 July 2002, once 60 States had become Parties. Zimbabwe did not sign the Rome Statute when it was drawn up in 1998 and has not since acceded to it. Neither has the Sudan. The ICC has jurisdiction over nationals of non-member states in situations referred to the ICC prosecutor by the UN Security Council. [Rome Statute setting up ICC available on request.]

The President of the ICC, Sang-Hyun Song, is also attending the COMESA Summit. He has been to Tanzania , Lesotho and Botswana [all ICC States Parties] from 1 to 6 June to meet with senior representatives. This is his first official visit to African States Parties since taking office in March this year. The 30 African states who have signed or acceded make up the largest regional group of the 108 States Parties to the Rome Statute. President Song will reflect on the importance of the implementation of the Rome Statute into domestic legislation. "Complementarity is essential in that it underlines the collective responsibility of the world to put a stop to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. As many countries as possible should adopt legislation to enable credible domestic prosecutions of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. That will make trials in The Hague less necessary, bring justice closer to the victims, and bolster a comprehensive system to end impunity for the worst crimes known to humanity. The stronger this system becomes, the greater the deterrent effect on potential future atrocities", he emphasised.

To date, three States Parties to the Rome Statute - Uganda , the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic - have referred situations occurring on their territories to the Court. In addition, the Security Council has referred the situation in Darfur, Sudan - a non-State Party.

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