| |
Back to Index
Urgent
Appeal: Arbitrary arrest of ZCTU Secretary General
The Observatory & International Federation for
Human Rights (IFHR)
August 17, 2006
ZWE
003 / 0806 / OBS 098
Arbitrary detention / Release on bail / Judicial proceedings
Zimbabwe
The Observatory
for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme
of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International
Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention
in the following situation in Zimbabwe.
Brief
description of the situation:
The Observatory
has been informed by the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU) and Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) about the arbitrary arrest of
Mr. Wellington Chibebe, General Secretary of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).
According to
the information received, on August 15, 2006, Mr. Chibebe was arrested
at a roadblock and detained at Waterfalls Police station as he was
travelling by car from Masvingo with his family. He was stopped
at a roadblock near Waterfalls, where the Police demanded to search
his car, supposedly in order to look for cash.
At first, Mr.
Chibebe was accused of "failure to cooperate with a police
officer". However, the police would have later deliberately
changed the charges to "common assault against a police officer".
On August 17,
2006, Mr. Wellington Chibebe appeared before the Mbare Magistrates
Court. He was charged of contravening section 176 of the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Act [chapter 9:23], which states that
"Any person who assaults or by violent means resists a peace
officer acting in the course of his or her duty, knowing that he
or she is a peace officer or realising that there is a risk or possibility
that he or she is a peace officer, shall be guilty of assaulting
or resisting a peace officer and liable to a fine not exceeding
level twelve or imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years
or both".
Mr. Wellington
Chibebe was granted ZWD 2000 bail (8 US $) and the trial date was
set for September 4, 2006.
The Observatory
expresses its concern about these events, and strongly condemns
this arbitrary arrest, which is the latest in a continuous pattern
of harassment and repression of Zimbabwe's human rights defenders,
including trade union leaders, as well as the use of the recently
promulgated Codification Act, which imposes heavy sentences and
fines on previously non grievous offences.
More generally,
the Observatory reiterates its concern about the situation of human
rights defenders in Zimbabwe, who face serious risks to their security
as well as infringements of their freedoms of expression and association.
Action requested:
Please write
to the Zimbabwean authorities, urging them to :
- Guarantee,
in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity
of Mr. Wellington Chibebe, as well as of all human rights defenders
in Zimbabwe;
- Ensure that
Mr. Wellington Chibebe's rights to a fair and impartial
trial be guaranteed in any circumstances;
- Put an end
to all acts of harassment against ZCTU members and all human rights
defenders in Zimbabwe;
- Conform with
the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in
particular its article 1 which states that "Everyone has
the right, individually and in association with others, to promote
and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights
and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels",
and article 12(2), which provides that "The State shall
take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent
authorities of everyone, individually and in association with
others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or
de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary
action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the
rights referred to in the present Declaration";
- Ensure in
all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
in accordance with international human rights standards and international
instruments ratified by Zimbabwe.
Addresses :
- President
of Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert G. Mugabe, Office of the President, Private
Bag 7700, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 708 211
- Mr. Khembo
Mohadi, Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 11th
Floor Mukwati Building, Private Bag 7703, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe,
Fax : +263 4 726 716
- Mr. Patrick
Chinamasa, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs,
Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Fax: + 263
4 77 29 99
- Mr. Augustine
Chihuri, Police Commissioner, Police Headquarters, P.O. Box 8807,
Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 253 212 / 728 768 / 726
084
- Mr. Sobuza
Gula Ndebele, Attorney-General, Office of the Attorney, PO Box
7714, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax: + 263 4 77 32 47
- Mrs. Chanetsa,
Office of the Ombudsman Fax: + 263 4 70 41 19
- Ambassador
Mr. Chitsaka Chipaziwa, Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to the United
Nations in Geneva, Chemin William Barbey 27, 1292 Chambésy,
Switzerland, Fax: + 41 22 758 30 44, Email: mission.zimbabwe@ties.itu.net
- Ambassador
Mr. Pununjwe, Embassy of Zimbabwe in Brussels, 11 SQ Josephine
Charlotte, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762
96 05 / + 32 2 775 65 10, Email: zimbrussels@skynet.be
Please also
write to the embassies of Zimbabwe in your respective country.
***
Geneva - Paris, August 17, 2006
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection
of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support
in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of
the French Republic.
To contact the
Observatory, call the emergency line:
Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH: 33 1 43 55 55 05 / 01 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29
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
|
