Harassment against Mr. Arnold Tsunga and Mr. Raymond Majongwe / Arbitrary detention of three PTUZ members

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

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) about acts of harassment against Mr. Arnold Tsunga, Executive Director of ZLHR, Chairman of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights) and 2006 Laureate of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders[1], as well as against Mr. Raymond Majongwe, Secretary General of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ).

According to the information received, on January 25, 2007, Mr. Arnold Tsunga was detained at the Harare International Airport, on his return from the World Social Forum in Kenya. Indeed, as he was leaving the arrivals terminal in the airport, Mr. Tsunga was approached by four men and brought to an office where he was briefly detained and interrogated. Mr. Tsunga was then released without charge. One of these men would be a well-known operative of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), which is responsible for vetting people as they enter and exit the country. Since then, Mr. Tsunga would have been placed under surveillance by the CIO.

Furthermore, on February 1, 2007, at around 5 a.m, several police officers from the Law and Order Section at Harare Central Police Station stormed into Mr. Raymond Majongwe’s house. His wife indicated that Mr. Majongwe had traveled out of Harare and could not possibly attend to them. The officers refused to heed to this information and continued to harass Mrs. Majongwe, threatening to arrest her and confiscate her identity documents. After protracted exchanges, the police officers left with a stern demand that Mr. Majongwe reports to the Harare Central Police Station at 8 a.m. without fail. No reasons were disclosed for their intention to question and obviously arrest him. Finally, Mr. Majongwe and his lawyers decided to report to the police station on February 5, 2007, fearing to be detained during the weekend.

In the past, Mr. Raymond Majongwe has been arrested, detained, beaten, prosecuted (but not convicted) on numerous occasions for engaging in peaceful protests for workers’ rights and democracy in Zimbabwe. Throughout the country, in particular in rural areas, PTUZ members have been regularly harassed.

For instance, on February 2, 2007, Messrs. Charles Kaguramhamba, Henry Chinorumba and P. Dube, three teachers and PTUZ members, were arrested at the Gaza Secondary School in Chipinge, for having organised a sit in calling for better work conditions of work and salaries. The three men are currently being detained at the Chipinge Police Station by officers from the Law and Order Section Chipinge.

Action requested :

Please write to the Zimbabwean authorities, urging them to :

1. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Raymond Majongwe and his wife, Arnold Tsunga, Charles Kaguramhamba, Henry Chinorumba and P. Dube, as well as of all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe;
2. Release Messrs. Charles Kaguramhamba, Henry Chinorumba and P. Dube immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary;
3. Put an end to all acts of harassment against all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe;
4. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular its article 1 which states that “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and article 12.2, providing that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”, as well as to comply with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in particular articles 9, 10, 11 and 12, which guarantee the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association;
5. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments 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
• Mr. Khembo Mohadi, Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 11th Floor Mukwati Building, Private Bag 7703, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 726 716
• Mr. Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Fax: + 263 4 77 29 99 / +263 4 252 155
• Mr. Augustine Chihuri, Police Commissioner, Police Headquarters, P.O. Box 8807, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax : +263 4 253 212 / 728 768 / 726 084
• Mr. Sobuza Gula Ndebele, Attorney-General, Office of the Attorney, PO Box 7714, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe, Fax: + 263 4 77 32 47
• Mrs. Chanetsa, Office of the Ombudsman Fax: + 263 4 70 41 19
• Ambassador Mr. Chitsaka Chipaziwa, Permanent Mission of Zimbabwe to the United Nations in Geneva, Chemin William Barbey 27, 1292 Chambésy, Switzerland, Fax: + 41 22 758 30 44, Email: mission.zimbabwe@ties.itu.net
• Ambassador Mr. Pununjwe, Embassy of Zimbabwe in Brussels, 11 SQ Josephine Charlotte, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 96 05 / + 32 2 775 65 10, Email: zimbrussels@skynet.be

Please also write to the embassies of Zimbabwe in your respective country.

***

Geneva - Paris, February 2, 2007

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights 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 French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH: 33 1 43 55 55 05 / 01 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29

[1] The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA), created in 1993, is a unique collaboration among eleven of the world’s leading non-governmental human rights organisations to give protection to human rights defenders worldwide. The Jury is composed of the following: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, OMCT, FIDH, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Diakonie Germany, International Service for Human Rights, International Alert, Front Line, and Huridocs. Mr. Arnold Tsunga shares the 2006 MEA with the Iranian human rights defender Mr. Akbar Ganji.