Probe police rights abuses: Amnesty

The Zimbabwean authorities should set up an independent complaints body accessible to the public which investigates all allegations against the police, said Amnesty International secretary general Irene Khan in a statement.

Women activists
Amnesty made the call following a ruling by a Harare magistrate last Tuesday ordering the government to investigate alleged assault of four women human rights activists by police while in custody.

Police, arbitrarily arrested and assaulted the four activists from the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) pressure group, on June 18 after they took part in a peaceful demonstration to commemorate World Refugee Day.

“While the courts decision is welcome, the Zimbabwean authorities must now get to the bottom of these allegations and bring those responsible to account,” said Khan, who was in Harare at the time of the womens arrest.

The four women were arrested about 50 metres outside a hotel in Harare where Khan was holding a press conference on June 18. Police assaulted the activists and are reported to have accused them of embarrassing the government in front of international visitors.

Prominent human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, who is representing the activists, told the court that the women were also denied access to treatment for their injuries as a punishment for their activism.

The state was ordered to present its report on the womens allegations by July 13.

Poor record
This is one of the many cases documented by Amnesty International that show Zimbabwean polices poor record of policing peaceful demonstrations and ill-treatment of perceived political opponents while in custody, said Amnesty about the arrest and assault of the women activists.

Backing its calls for an independent authority to monitor the police on human rights, the international rights watchdog said: “We do not trust that police are capable of investigating themselves.

Lack of accountability within the ZRP appears to be more of an institutional culture as opposed to lack of a legal framework or knowledge of how to bring those responsible to book. The ZRP has been instrumental in silencing government critics since 2000 and continues to do so with total impunity.”

Amnesty also voiced concern over delays in implementing reforms and retraining of the police, five months since the creation of an inclusive government.

A power-sharing agreement signed by President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara that led to formation of the unity government commits the new administration to undertake training programmes to assist the police and other security agencies appreciate the rights of freedom of assembly, association and other basic rights.

“Despite the political agreement, police continue to categorise as criminal all legitimate activities of human rights defenders, said Amnesty.

Police reforms
Amnesty International specifically called for urgent reforms of the police is law and order department and the and the anti-riot unit both of which have been identified by victims as the most notorious for using torture, excessive force, arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention as tools of repression against perceived political opponents since 2000.

Khan led a high level mission to Zimbabwe from June 13 to 18. She met with senior government officials including Vice President Joice Mujuru and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Among other senior government ministers, Khan also met with the co-Ministers of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa and discussed the urgent need for police reforms.

Since 2000, Amnesty International has documented numerous cases involving thousands of human rights activists who were victims of arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, use of excessive force and torture while in police custody. In addition, detainees have been denied bail, medical care, water, food and access to lawyers and family as a form of punishment for their activism.