Judicial proceedings - ZWE 001 / 0106 / OBS 011.1

26/09/2006
Urgent Appeal

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the decision of the Harare Court to refuse to place on remand the Board Trustees of the Voice of the People (VOP) radio station, who were accused of broadcasting without a licence.

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), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Zimbabwe.

New information:

According to the information received, on September 25, 2006, a hearing against VOP trustees Messrs. David Masunda, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, Lawrence Chibwe, Millicent Phiri, Arnold Tsunga, John Masuku and Mrs. Isabella Matambanadzo resumed before the Harare Magistrate’s Court. They were being accused of contravening section 7(1) of the Broadcasting Services Act Chapter 12:06 as read with Section 6 (a) (b), which prohibits "broadcasting without a licence". Mrs. Maria Nyanyiwa, Mrs. Nyasha Bosha and Mrs. Kundai Mugwanda, journalists with VOP, were also facing similar charges. The three of them had been held for four days in December 2005 after the police searched the radio studios in the centre of the capital. They all had been released on bail(See background information).

When the hearing started, the Prosecutor argued that the case should be brought against VOP as a trust and not against the 10 individual members of staff and Board of Trustees as was the present situation. In this view, he stated that he had to ascertain that VOP was registered at the Registrar of Companies at the Deeds Office before charging VOP as a trust, and therefore requested to postpone the hearing to November 7, 2006, and to place on remand the accused persons until then. Once it would have had a chance to do so, then the State would withdraw the charges.

However, the Magistrate at the Court of Harare, ruled in favour of the defence, who was against any postponement of the hearing as the State had indicated as early as January 24, 2006 that it was ready to go to trial. However, the trial had already been postponed twice. Indeed, the Magistrate stated that he saw no reason why the accused should be placed on remand.

The Observatory welcomes this decision of the Court of Harare but recalls that, for now on, the Magistrate did not rule that the VOP trustees are free to go back to operating as VOP, nor did he order the return to their offices of the equipment seized by the police in their raid of December 2005. No indication was given concerning the date of the next hearing.


Background information:

On January 25, 2006, Mr. Arnold Tsunga, also Chairman of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights), Executive Director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), along with Mr. David Masunda, Mr. Millicent Phiri, Mr. Lawrence Chibwe, Mr. Nhlahla Ngwenya and Mrs. Isabella Matambanadzo, had been arrested and charged with "broadcasting without a license" (section 7.1 of the Broadcasting Services Act), a charge carrying a penalty of up to two years imprisonment. On that day, all were released on bail, but five of them, including Mr. Tsunga, had to report weekly before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Law and Order.

A preliminary hearing was held on February 28, 2006, at which a Magistrate decided not to accept the defence’s submission that there was insufficient evidence to send the case to full trial.

On June 15, 2006, there was a short hearing during which the Prosecution applied to change the magistrate, to which the defence objected (See joint press release of the Observatory and the International Commission of Jurists, June 15, 2006[1]). Although this application was in the end not granted, the Prosecution was granted an adjournment to September 25 - 28, 2006.

Action requested :

Please write to the Zimbabwean authorities, urging them to :

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe;

ii. Ensure that Mr. Arnold Tsunga, Mrs. David Masunda, Mr. Millicent Phiri, Mr. Lawrence Chibwe, Mr. Nhlahla Ngwenya and Mrs. Isabella Matambanadzo be granted a fair and impartial trial so that all charges against them be dropped, as they are arbitrary;

iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment against all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe;

iv. 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";

v. 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 / + 263.4.70.38.58 / 263 4 734 644

 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, September 26, 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

[1] On June 15, 2006, the Observatory and ICJ had mandated an observer to attend the hearing in the trial against Mr. Arnold Tsunga before the Rotten Row Magistrates’ Court in Harare.

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