Ongoing harassment of human rights lawyers in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe Human rights lawyers and their families have faced a surge in violent harassment, including arbitrary arrests, detention and violent physical assaults during April and May 2007.

On 25 April 2007, the wives of the two lawyers received anonymous threatening telephone calls. On 4 May, the human rights lawyers Alec Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni were arbitrarily arrested. On 8 May, riot police violently disrupted a peaceful gathering outside the National High Court in Harare of approximately 60 human rights lawyers representing the Law Society of Zimbabwe in order to protest against police harassment of lawyers, the defiance of court orders by the government and the arbitrary arrest and detention of two senior human rights lawyers.

Reportedly, three truckloads of riot police, uniformed officers and individuals in plain clothes armed with automatic rifles, shot guns and batons initiated the attack, verbally abused the lawyers and physically attacked them on charges of '”not dispersing fast enough.” A number of lawyers sought protection inside the Attorney General's office but were physically attacked by riot police and additional officers waiting inside the building. The lawyers Beatrice Mtetwa, Colin Kuhuni, Chris Mhike and Terrence Fitzpatrick were placed onto a police truck and driven to Eastlea, a nearby suburb where they were ordered to lie on the ground on the side of the road and beaten in full view of the public. The lawyers were then released on the roadside.

Front Line believes human rights lawyers and their families are been targeted as a direct result of their peaceful and legitimate activities in the defence of human rights. Front Line urges the Zimbabwean authorities to immediately end this violent harassment and bring those responsible to justice.