CIVICUS urges Zimbabwe Attorney General to drop charges against activists

 

25 August 2006 – CIVICUS wrote to the Attorney General of Zimbabwe, Sobuza Gula-Ndebele, to express its concern about the charges facing 153 members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) for their participation in a peaceful march on 21 August 2006.

 

CIVICUS feels the charges against these courageous activists are excessive, and are another example of the systematic violation of fundamental human rights in Zimbabwe, as a result of repressive laws aimed at stifling civic space.

 

According to reports, approximately 450 WOZA members marched towards the Reserve Bank in Bulawayo to deliver an open letter to the central bank’s governor Gideon Gono. The group was stopped by riot police, however, before they could deliver the letter which protested the government’s alleged solution to Zimbabwe’s economic crisis, Operation Sunrise.

 

Approximately 153 members of WOZA are facing charges under Section 37 (1)(b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23, for distributing “obscene, threatening, abusive or insulting” material which could provoke a breach of the peace. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years. Many of those charged spent two nights in prison, but were granted free bail on the morning of 23 August. They are due to appear in court again on 10 October.

 

WOZA is a Zimbabwean non-government organisation which encourages women to speak out against unjust laws and hold their government accountable. Although its demonstrations have consistently been peaceful, over 800 WOZA members have been arrested and detained in its four year existence.

 

CIVICUS appealed to the Government of Zimbabwe to:

 

• Immediately drop the charges against the 153 WOZA members
• Refrain from detaining and charging peaceful civil society activists who exercise their fundamental rights to expression, assembly and association, as guaranteed by articles 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
• Repeal or revise laws that unjustly restrain citizens from fully enjoying their freedoms of assembly, association and expression, including the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), as well as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA),  Broadcasting Services Act (BSA), Miscellaneous Offences Act, and the Constitutional Amendment No. 17

 

Join CIVICUS in asking the charges against the WOZA members to be dropped. Complete and send a letter. View the sample letter.

 

For more information, please contact CIVICUS at cswatch@civicus.org or visit www.civicus.org or www.civilsocietywatch.org.