Zimbabwe: Lawyers and Human Rights Defenders
at Risk
Lawyers Committee expresses great concern about assault
of lawyer Gugulethu Moyo amidst new wave of human rights violations
in Zimbabwe
NEW YORK - The Lawyers Committee today condemned the assault
and detention of lawyer Gugulethu Moyo in Zimbabwe. Ms. Moyo was punched
and beaten by two individuals on March 18, in Harare, when she went
to a police station seeking to provide legal representation to a detained
photographer from the independent newspaper, the Daily News. One of
her attackers was Jocelyn Chiwenga, wife of the Zimbabwean army commander,
Lieutenant-General Constantine Chiwenga. Several police officers were
present during the assault, but made no efforts to intervene.
“The attack on Ms. Moyo is particularly chilling, given that
she went to the police station in her capacity as a lawyer seeking
to represent a client in custody,” commented Lorna Davidson,
a senior associate with the Lawyers Committee who recently returned
from a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe. “There is an on-going
campaign to threaten, harass and obstruct the work of lawyers trying
to ensure respect for the rights of their clients, particularly
in cases where the clients themselves are government opponents or
critics.” Earlier this year, human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba
was also detained when he attempted to represent Movement for Democratic
Change (the main Zimbabwean opposition party) Member of Parliament
Job Sikhala. Mr. Shumba was then subjected to torture at the hands
of the police, including being electrocuted and forced to swallow
urine.
The assault on Ms. Moyo occurred on the first day of a two-day
public strike in Zimbabwe, organised by the Movement for Democratic
Change and other civil society groups in protest against the government
and its continuing human rights abuses. Several hundred people were
arrested during and immediately after the strike. Reports indicate
that many people suspected of involvement in the strike were subjected
to violent attack both in their homes and in police detention.
For more information on the human rights crisis in Zimbabwe, visit
our website at: http://www.lchr.org/defenders/hrd_zimbabwe/hrd_zimbabwe.htm
To read the Advocacy Alert on this issue, visit our website at:
http://www.lchr.org/defenders/hrd_zimbabwe/alert032503.htm
|
