HARARE The number of prominent activists and politicians currently languishing in the countrys prisons is on the increase as the police clamp down on people brave enough to speak out against injustice in Zimbabwe. Every day the number of people joining Munyaradzi Gwisai and Douglas Mwonzora is going up. Even Lovemore Madhuku of the National Constitution Assembly was summoned to the courts recently to answer to charges from 2006. Many people are now afraid to associate with peers as they can be arrested under the nefarious Public Order and Security (POSA), the law under which Gwisai was arrested.
Zimbabwe has acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which dictates its signatories to uphold and ensure enjoyment of its peoples’ rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of opinion and expression, and protection from arbitrary arrest or detention, however Gwisai and Mwonzora were denied such liberties.
The United States says it is gravely concerned at the arrests of political and civil activists. Phillip J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, said that the government of Zimbabwe should uphold the rights of its citizens.
We call on the Government of Zimbabwe to uphold those rights and to ensure due process for those arrested. Mr. Gwisai’s defence attorney has reported that several of the 46 people were tortured while in custody, and we understand that the magistrate has ordered physical examinations to substantiate those claims.
We call on the government to provide medical attention for those who need it and, if torture occurred, to take immediate action to hold the perpetrators accountable. We will follow closely the planned announcement of a ruling on the merits of the treason charges on March.
Only time will tell whether the detained who say they have been tortured will receive a fair trial.
Post published in: News