Battle to release jailed diamond researcher set for High Court

Maguwu is facing charges of publishing and communicating falsehoods that are allegedly prejudicial to the state and faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted. The Court is set to decide on whether the diamond monitor should be released on bail or not. There has been widespread outrage since his bail application was refused on Friday. There has also been anger about the ill-treatment of Maguwu while in police custody. On Tuesday, Amnesty International reiterated calls for the Zimbabwean government to release him, saying in a statement that he is a prisoner of conscience. The group has called on the government to release him immediately and unconditionally.

According to Maguwus lawyer Tinoziva Bere, it is clear the state has been pursuing a vendetta against Maguwu, given the inhumane treatment he is was subjected to, such as keeping his legs chained when he was ill with an upset stomach. Maguwu remains under police guard at the prison hospital and still needs medical attention, despite an improvement in his health.

Either Farai will be given bail or denied bail. If he were granted bail, we dont expect the state to readily agree. We expect a struggle, but it is not new. We expect the Attorney Generals representatives to argue strongly that he must not be admitted bail, Bere said.Maguwu, who is the director of the Mutare based Centre for Research and Development, has been investigating human rights abuses in the Chiadzwa diamond fields. He has now spent over four weeks in custody while police claim they are carrying out investigations.

He was arrested on June 3 soon after a meeting with the Kimberly Process monitor Abbey Chikane. Maguwu told Chikane about ongoing human rights abuses at the Chiadzwa diamond fields, as well as incidents of illegal gold panning and the smuggling of uncertified diamonds. Maguwu, shortly before his arrest, told SW Radio Africa that he believed that Chikane had deliberately shopped him to the police. Chikane was appointed by the Kimberley Process, the international diamond trade watchdog, to monitor Zimbabwe to see if it had ended rights abuses in Chiadzwa.

Maguwus imprisonment has also been marked with what is perceived as deliberate delays by the police. The state prosecution argues that Maguwu should remain locked up because police claim they are still making extra-territorial investigations. The officer involved with Maguwus case, Detective Inspector Henry Dowa, wants to access information locked in Maguwus laptop, which is believed to be in police hands. But they have been unable to access access codes for Maguwus laptop. Maguwus defence team insists that, according to the law, he is entitled to remain silent and as such could not be forced to open files on his laptop.

A new twist to the saga has also emerged after it was reported that Chikane is now also calling for the authorities to free Maguwu. According to the Daily News, Chikane was speaking from Johannesburg on Thursday when he said that it is not in the best interests of the Zimbabwean government to arrest people for having meetings with him.Bere said if the reports about Chikanes new stance on Maguwu are true the court should consider this development.

I heard of this, I hope that the courts take judicial notice of that fact. I hope that he would rubbish claims that he had not given his statement to the police or that he has not given the police the documents he claims that he got from Farai, because we believe that he did that and he gave those documents to state authorities, he said. Efforts to get Chikane to comment on the claims about his new stance are still underway.