13 held after High Court protest

by AP/Staff Reporter

THIRTEEN human rights campaigners were arrested outside the Harare High Court on Wednesday where allegations of police assaults and torture were to be raised.

Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) spokesman Stendrick Zvorwadza said the 13 demonstrated with placards calling for impartiality by police and judicial officials accused of targeting opponents of President Robert Mugabe.

The High Court on Wednesday again postponed an appeal for bail by eight activists from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party accused over the killing of a police inspector in May.

The suspects deny involvement and say they were assaulted and tortured in custody. The police officer died in a stoning incident outside a bar in Glen View suburb.

Police were set to charge the 13 ROHR activists with holding an illegal demonstration because they were not cleared to protest, their lawyer Gift Mtisi said.

In a statement, the MDC-T condemned the arrests, saying police were applying the law selectively. “The increase in the selective application and abuse of the existing legal instruments by the police to target civic society members and other members of the society shows a deliberate attempt to muzzle freedom of association and favour a particular viewpoint which favours the sunset party, Zanu PF,” the party said.

“The MDC is concerned that on Saturday, Zanu PF thugs stormed the Parliament Building and intentionally disrupted a public hearing organised to solicit the people’s views on the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill. Similar disruptions took place in Chinhoyi, Mutare and Masvingo but no arrests were made despite the incidents taking place in front of the police.”


(2011-7-28/NewZimbabwe)