THE OBSERVATORY - URGENT APPEAL
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.
Brief description of the situation :
According to the information received, on September 13, 2006, Mr. Lovemore Matombo, ZCTU President, Ms. Lucia Matibenga, ZCTU First Vice President, and Mr. Wellington Chibebe, ZCTU Secretary General, were brutally assaulted by police officers, at the Police station of Matapi, a district of Mbare, in Harare. Messrs. Matombo and Chibebe could reportedly not manage to stand after the assaults and their clothes were soaked in blood. Ms. Lucia Matibenga had swollen feet and could no longer walk. The detained trade unionists were denied access to a doctor from "Doctors for Human Rights" and to a lawyer during the whole afternoon on September 13, 2006.
Meanwhile, routes planned for use by union marchers were blocked in many cities, including in Harare, where the militia of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) wearing party regalia moved from point to point, intimidating people.
In addition, hundreds of trade union leaders throughout the country were detained, interrogated and in some cases assaulted by the police. Others were threatened or intimated. ZCTU offices were blockaded and/or sealed by army and/or police forces, as happened for instance in Masvingo and Mutare. Repression against unionists and other civilians reportedly took place in 16 cities and towns throughout the whole country, including Harare, Chitungwiza, Plumtree, Gwanda, Hwange, Bulawayo, Beitbridge, Masvingo, Mutare, Chinhoyi, Kariba, Gweru, Shurugwi, Gokwe, Kwekwe and Chegutu.
On September 14, 2006, early in the morning, Mr. Matombo, Mr. Chibebe and Ms. Matibenga were transferred to the Harare’s Central Police Station.
According to the information received, police officials at the Central Police Station of Harare refused to detain Mr. Matombo, Mr. Chibebe and Ms. Matibenga and were insisting on receiving a report on who assaulted them. The Matapi police denied that Mr. Matombo, Mr. Chibebe and Ms. Matibenga were assaulted. Subsequently, their lawyer made an application to the High Court for an order to give the three human rights defenders access to a doctor. Later in the day on September 14, 2006, Mr. Matombo, Mr. Chibebe and Ms. Matibenga were transferred back to Matapi.
On September 15, 2006, Mr. Matombo and Ms. Matibenga appeared in Court at around 4:15 pm. The injuries of Mr. Wellington Chibebe, who has serious cuts to the head, three broken bones, and severe bruising and swelling all over his body, were so severe that he was unable to attend the bail hearing. Yet, all three were released on bail of 20,000 Zimbabwe dollars each, and are due to appear in court on October 3, 2006 on charges relative to public order (under Section 37 of the Criminal Law Act).
While Mr. Lovemore Matombo has a broken arm and has bruising and swelling all over his body, Ms. Lucia Matibenga has whip marks all over her back. Her neck is swollen and her ear drums have been damaged so much her hearing is impaired.
The Observatory strongly condemns these events, which are the latest in a continuous pattern of harassment and repression of Zimbabwe’s human rights defenders, including trade union leaders. In addition, the Observatory recalls that the use of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) against legitimate trade union action and activists has been repeatedly criticised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), most recently by the Committee on the Application of Standards during the 95th Session of the ILO Conference, last June in Geneva (Switzerland).
More generally, the Observatory reiterates its concern about the situation of human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, who face serious risks to their security as well as infringements of their freedoms of expression and association.
Background information :
The Observatory recalls that on August 15, 2006, Mr. Wellington Chibebe had been arrested at a roadblock and detained at Waterfalls Police station as he was travelling by car from Masvingo with his family. He was stopped at a roadblock near Waterfalls, where the Police demanded to search his car, supposedly in order to look for cash.
At first, Mr. Chibebe was accused of "failure to cooperate with a police officer". However, the police would have later deliberately changed the charges to "common assault against a police officer".
On August 17, 2006, Mr. Wellington Chibebe appeared before the Mbare Magistrates Court. He was charged of contravening section 176 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [chapter 9:23], which states that "Any person who assaults or by violent means resists a peace officer acting in the course of his or her duty, knowing that he or she is a peace officer or realising that there is a risk or possibility that he or she is a peace officer, shall be guilty of assaulting or resisting a peace officer and liable to a fine not exceeding level twelve or imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or both". Mr. Wellington Chibebe was granted ZWD 2,000 bail (8 US $).
According to the information received, although his trial date was set for September 4, 2006, it seems to be that the case will not proceed pending the determination and finalisation of the Constitutional Challenge filed on behalf of Mr. Chibebe, which challenges the Constitutionality of the Law under which he is charged, i.e. the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23 ].
Action requested:
Please write to the Zimbabwean authorities, urging them to :
i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Lovemore Matombo, Ms. Lucia Matibenga, and Mr. Wellington Chibebe, as well as of all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe;
ii. Ensure that their rights to a fair and impartial trial be guaranteed in any circumstances;
iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment against ZCTU members and 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, in particular the ILO Conventions 87 and 98 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.
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
– Officer-in-Charge of Matapi Police Station, c/o Provincial Officer Commanding, Harare Province, PO Box CY154, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax: +263 4 753 501
– 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.
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Geneva - Paris, September 19, 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 at offering 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