Arbitrary arrest of Ms. Florence Ndlovu and Mr. Walter Dube

ZWE 003 / 0511 / OBS 081

Arbitrary arrest/

Obstacle tofreedom of peaceful assembly

Zimbabwe

May 24, 2011

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights(FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgentintervention in the following situation in Zimbabwe.

Description of the situation :

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sourcesabout the arbitrary arrest by the police of Ms. FlorenceNdlovu and Mr. Walter Dube,respectively Regional Coordinator for Matabeleland province and Paralegal Officer for Matabeleland, Midlands and Masvingoprovinces for Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights),as well as about the disruption by the police of a meeting convened byZimRights on torture in Tsholotsho,Matabeleland North province.

Accordingto the information received, on May 23, 2011, Ms. Florence Ndlovu and Mr.Walter Dube were arrested by the police as they were coming from TshinoBusiness Centre in Tsholotsho, where the police had earlier on disrupted a workshop that was being convened by ZimRights to raise villagers’ awareness about torture and its effects, on the pretext that the meeting was unlawful.

Asof issuing this Urgent Appeal, Ms. Florence Ndlovu and Mr. Walter Dube remaineddetained at Nyamandlovu police station in Matebeleland North province, at about40km out of Bulawayo. In addition, two lawyers from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) who had gone to deal with the case were denied access to them after mounting a rapid response to theirarrest. The police denied detaining Ms.Ndlovu and Mr. Dube andclaimed that the two ZimRights employees had been taken to Sipepa BusinessCentre despite evidence of their detention through the presence of theirvehicle that was parked at the police station.

By the night of the sameday, the lawyers were working on filing a habeas corpus petition tochallenge the detention of the two ZimRights staff members.

The police action indisrupting the ZimRights workshop is in defiance of a court order which wasissued on May 20 by Bulawayo Magistrate NtombizodwaMazhandu. Indeed, in accordance withlegal provisions, on May 17, 2011, ZIMRIGHTS regional officers gave notice tothe police of their intention to hold the meeting. ZimRights was then forced to engage the services ofZLHR after the Police Officer Commanding Tsholotsho District in MatabelelandNorth banned them from holding the workshop after claiming that “the subject oftorture is not in line with Zimbabwean culture”. ZLHRfiled an application before the Bulawayo Magistrate Court arguing that underSection 24 of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) they were exempt fromnotifying the police as this was not a political gathering. On May 20, 2011, Magistrate Mazhandu interdicted the policefrom disturbing or interfering in any way with the ZimRights workshop andordered the organisation to proceed with the workshop as scheduled and promoteits right to freedom of association and assembly as set out in Section 21 ofthe Constitution and the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed underSection 20 of the Constitution.

The Observatory deeply condemns the arbitrary arrestof Ms. Florence Ndlovu and Mr. Walter Dube, which seems to merely aim atsanctioning their human rights activities, and urges the Zimbabwean authoritiesto guarantee their physical and psychological integrity as well as to releasethem immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Zimbabwe askingthem to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances thephysical and psychological integrity of Ms. Florence Ndlovu and Mr. Walter Dubeas well as all ZimRights members and all human rights defenders in the country;

ii. Release Ms. Florence Ndlovu and Mr.Walter Dube immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitraryas it only aims at sanctioning their human rights activities;

iii. In the meantime, guarantee unconditional access to theirlawyers and families;

iv. Order an immediate, thorough, effective and impartial investigation intothe above-mentioned facts, the result of which must be made public, in order toidentify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartialtribunal and apply to them the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by the law;

v. Put an end to any kind of harassment- including at the judicial level - against Ms. Florence Ndlovu and Mr. WalterDube as well as against all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe;

vi. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human RightsDefenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9,1998, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right,individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for theprotection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at thenational and international levels”, and Article 12.2, which provides that theState shall “take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by thecompetent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others,against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adversediscrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of hisor her legitimate exercise of his or her rights”;

vii. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rightsand fundamental freedoms in accordance with in accordance with the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rightsinstruments ratified by Zimbabwe.

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;

· Mr. Khembo Mohadi, co-Minister ofHome Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 11th Floor Mukwati Building, PrivateBag 7703, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 726 716;

· Ms. Terese Makone, co-Minister ofHome Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 11th Floor Mukwati Building, PrivateBag 7703, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 726 716;

· Mr. Patrick Chinamasa, Minister ofJustice and Legal Affairs, Fax: + 263 4 77 29 99 / +263 4 252 155;

· Mr. Augustine Chihuri, CommissionerGeneral, Police Headquarters, P.O. Box 8807, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax :+263 4 253 212 / 728 768 / 726 084;

· Mr. Johannes Tomana,Attorney-General, Office of the Attorney, PO Box 7714, Causeway, Harare,Zimbabwe, Fax: + 263 4 77 32 47;

· Ms. Chanetsa, Office of the PublicProtector, Fax: + 263 4 70 41 19;

· Ambassador Mr. Chitsaka Chipaziwa,Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to the United Nations in Geneva, Chemin WilliamBarbey 27, 1292 Chambésy, Switzerland, Fax: + 41 22 758 30 44, Email: mission.zimbabwe@ties.itu.int;

· Embassy of Zimbabwe in Brussels, 11SQ Josephine Charlotte, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 9605 / + 32 2 775 65 10, Email: zimbrussels@skynet.be.

Please also write to the embassiesof Zimbabwe in your respective country.

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Paris-Geneva, May 24,2011

Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in yourreply.

TheObservatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of HumanRights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the FrenchRepublic.

Tocontact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

• E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
• Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 2518 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
• Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29