| Paris,
23 october 2003
The International Federation for Human Rights
(FIDH) strongly condemns the serious wave of repression in Zimbabwe,
which predominantly affects opposition activists and civil society
actors. Such a pattern of state repression shows the growing
authoritarianism of the Mugabe regime.
On 18 October, two employees and an activist
of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the main Zimbabwean
opposition party, were shot in the MDC head office in Harare
by a person identified as a lawyer. One of the wounded, Mr Wellington
Kanyanga, is said to be in a critical condition, and the other
two have been admitted at the hospital for injuries in the arms
and legs. Whilst the injured are under police guard, the alleged
perpetrator of these acts has not been interrogated by the police.
Moreover, two MDC activists are going to stand
trial next week for criticizing the President of Zimbabwe, Mr
Robert Mugabe. Indeed, on 13 October, Mr Paul Themba Nyathi,
the MDC Secretary for Information and Publicity was informed
by the police that he was going to stand trial on 29 October
for attempting to remove a constitutionally elected President
Mugabe, under the provisions of the Public Order and Security
Act (the POSA, which was adopted in 2002). However, when he
was arrested on April 2003 together with many other MDC activists
following a stay-away, which was organised on 18 and 19 March
2003, he was released without charges.
On June 2003, Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC President,
was arrested in his house after calling for a weeklong strike.
He was charged with treason for making statements calling for
the removal of President Mugabe during protest campaigns in
May 2003. His trial is due to start on 27 October, two days
before Mr Themba Nyathi's trial.
Moreover, these attacks have not only targeted
opposition representatives, but also human rights defenders
and trade unionists (see Urgent appeal of the Observatory for
the Protection of Human Rights Defenders of 23 October 2003).
The FIDH considers these acts to constitute
serious violations of freedoms of expression, of association
and of the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs,
guaranteed in particular by Article 25 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political rights and Article 13 of the
African Charter on Human and People's Rights. Both have been
ratified by Zimbabwe.
The FIDH urges the Zimbabwean authorities to
ensure a fair and impartial trial of the MDC activists, in accordance
with national and international human rights instruments ratified
by Zimbabwe, and, since the charges against them are arbitrary,
to acquit them of all the charges. The FIDH will be present
for the hearing via Mr. Bidi, National Director of ZimRights,
the FIDH member organisation in Zimbabwe.
Moreover, the FIDH urges them to shed light
on the attack against the MDC members and file the appropriate
charges against the perpetrators, in accordance with the relevant
national and international provisions on human rights, and to
ensure the security of persons, as stated in Article 9 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Press Contact : +33 1 43 55 25 18 / 14 12
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