|
Back to Index
Hounded
at home, honoured abroad: the story of Beatrice Mtetwa
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
October 09, 2013
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) board chairperson, Beatrice Mtetwa, is constantly
hounded by state security agents at home.
Just last Friday
4 October 2013, she returned to court where she is on trial on charges
of defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
But abroad the
formidable lawyer continues to receive accolades.
A recipient
of numerous local, regional and international awards, Mtetwa will
on Wednesday 9 October 2013 share her experiences with the world
at the ongoing International Bar Association (IBA) annual conference
in Boston, USA.
Dubbed “A
conversation with Beatrice Mtetwa”, the discussion which commences
at 1300 hours to 1415 hours will focus on the agonising experiences
of the human rights lawyer whom the IBA has named as “the
bravest of lawyers” in Africa.
The discussion
will also celebrate her bravery and show support for a fellow legal
professional operating in extremely trying circumstances and times.
Mtetwa is accompanied by ZLHR executive director Irene Petras.
“She lives
and works in Zimbabwe where despite unlawful detentions, and being
beaten by the police in 2003 and 2007, she courageously defends
imprisoned human rights advocates, journalists, and opposition candidates.
She is the recipient of a host of awards in recognition of her defence
of human rights, and is the only African, besides Nelson Mandela,
to receive the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize
from France. Ms Mtetwa is the former President of the Southern African
Development Community Lawyers Association and a former President
of the Law Society
of Zimbabwe,” the organisers said.
Before the discussion,
a documentary film by Boston Film and Video Productions about the
ZLHR board chairperson’s life and work will be shown at the
start of this Conversation with a question and answer session following
the screening.
Established
in 1947, the IBA is the world’s leading organisation of international
legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Through
its global membership of individual lawyers, law firms, bar associations
and law societies it influences the development of international
law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession throughout
the world.
Visit the ZLHR
fact
sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
