Full page advert in The Standard newspaper on 13th March 2011:

ATT: Honourable Minister P. Chinamasa
Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs
New Government Complex
Block A 6th Floor

Dear Minister Chinamasa

We write to your attention the fact that Dr. Munyaradzi Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo, Welcome Zimuto, Antonator Choto, Tendai Mambeyarara and Edison Chakana are being held unjustly in Zimbabwe’s remand prison. The 6 were unjustly arrested while conducting a meeting at the International Socialist Organisation, in which developments in North Africa were shared verbally and visually on the 19th of February 2010, and have been incarcerated since. This group is now charged with treason, which as you know is a serious crime carrying he death penalty. We demand that the 6 be released urgently for the following reasons:

·    The 6 have been incarcerated long enough to allow the prosecution to conduct investigation, and now they are unjustly being denied of their freedom.
·    The charges are frivolous and it is clear to us that watching videos and discussing political developments elsewhere do not constitute a crime.
·    Our constitution allows the freedoms of association and assembly which they were exercising at the time of their arrest.
·    Democracy is not treason.

We would like to protest the subjection of Dr. Munyaradzi Gwisai and his co-accused to inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment at the hands of the police while in custody.

This matter deserves your urgent attention, because justice delayed s justice denied.

Yours Sincerely

Concerned Zimbabweans

Dr. Gwisai and 45 others Detention Timeline

19 February 2011: Dr. Munyaradzi Gwisai and 45 others arrested while watching a video and discussing protests in Egypt and Tunisia. Amongst the 45 are people living with HIV and AIDS, diabetics, students and economic justice campaigners.
19-23 February 20011: Accused held with no access to lawyers, medical  attention and running water.
23 February 2011: The 46 formally charged with treason (a crime that carries the death penalty in Zimbabwe), and make their first court appearance.
24 February 2011: Defence Lawyers, raise concerns around torture and denial of medical attention for the ill, or legal counsel for the group.
Monday the 7th March 2011: Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi, releases 39 of the 45 due to lack of evidence. Dr. Munyaradzi Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo, Welcome Zimuto, Antonator Choto, Tendai Mambeyarara and Edison Chakana remain in custody.

Our Appeal
Dr. Gwisai and his 5 colleagues remain in custody for a crime they did not commit or for which they have not been found guilty. We urge you to join the campaign to have the six innocent people freed. You can do so by signing the letter above, cutting it and sending it out to the Minister of Justice. You can also sign an online petition at www.freethemnow.com and be sure to attend their next month court appearance on Wednesday 16 March 2011.

·    Justice delayed is justice denied
·    Democracy is not treason
·    Today its Dr Gwisai, tomorrow it could be you

Help free Dr Gwisai and his 5 colleagues. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. An injury to one is an injury to all!!

Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs
Hon Patrick Chinamasa
Government of Zimbabwe
New Government Complex
P. Bag 7751, Causeway
Harare,
Zimbabwe
Fax: 00 263 4 790901
Salutation: Dear Minister

The Attorney General
Johannes Tomana
Government of Zimbabwe
P. Bag 7714, Causeway
Harare ,
Zimbabwe
Fax: 00 263 4 777049
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

HE Mr Gabriel Mharadze Machinga
Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe
Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe House,
429 Strand,
London WC2R 0JR,
United Kingdom
Telephone:00 44 207 836 7755
Faxes:00 44 207 379 116
Email:zimlondon@yahoo.co.uk

The bail hearing which was expected today in the case of Munyaradzi Gwisai from the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe) and the five others who have been charged with treason has been postponed to Wednesday 16 March.

This means the six will spend yet another weekend in police custody. It is Gwisai’s 42nd birthday on Saturday, but he won’t be spending it with his family. Wednesday will mark 25 nights in custody for these detainees.

Shantha Bloemen is Munyaradzi Gwisai’s partner. Munyaradzi Gwisai is the general co-ordinator of the International Socialist Organisation. In February he and 45 others were arrested after meeting to discuss the events in Egypt and Tunisia. They are being charged with treason. 39 of them were released, however Gwisai and five others are still remanded in police custody.

How did you feel when you found out Munya was arrested?
I was in New York where I had been assigned to work for a month and it was my second weekend. I was with my son on a train out to see my old roommate, and an ISO member called me. It took me a minute before I understood that they weren’t looking for Munya, and that he had been arrested. I was in shock. As soon as I got to my friend’s house I was both emotional and went into ‘what do I do to try and help’ especially feeling so far away. I got on email and blasted what I knew to as many people as I could. At that stage it wasn’t clear about the numbers and there was confusion.

What was your reaction to the charge of treason?
I was in New York, but I did get to speak to Munya briefly when they were on their way to court. The first time and they were sent back. At this point we didn’t know what the charges were. We thought it would be subversion and he was certain that they would be out in a few days. I felt like I was in my own little war room, working to get the story out, and then I got on a flight on Friday night, and by then we knew it was treason. It was incredible. It was a surreal experience, and we had a long flight back, which was obviously painful because you’re sitting there feeling frustrated. I was with our son, and of course he knows because it’s impossible not to discuss it. It was difficult having to contain my emotions, and also try and guard what I said so not to confuse him further or stress him out further. Every time I speak to him he says ‘when is Baba coming home?’ and he’s very angry. It’s terrible, you don’t want your kids to be afraid of the police, you don’t want them to be afraid of the state authorities, but you don’t want them to think that their dad’s done anything wrong. It’s very hard to explain bad governance and democracy and other lofty issues to a four and a half year old.

What has been the most difficult part of this situation for you?
In some ways this has been life changing for me personally. It’s now in its third week and I feel I’ve coped by keeping busy and trying to do as much practical stuff as I can, whether it be getting attention or trying to help the families of those that were detained, or raising money for the bail. But it’s also been an insight into what going on in Zimbabwe. I lived here in 2004 but sadly it feels like there is so much fear and paranoia and you don’t know what’s real and what’s not real. That feels much more entrenched than when I lived here. I feel like there’s a growing economic divide, and the northern suburbs of Harare are beautiful and filled with supermarkets that are filled with people who have fancy cars so I’m trying to make sense of it all. I’ve come regularly over the past few years, but this time it’s been such an intense experience I don’t know yet how to make sense of everything that’s going on.

What do you miss most about him?
Being able to talk to him. Munya and I are both very independent people, but we have a very strong commitment to each other, and we talk with each other. He’s a much calmer person than I am. It’s funny, as I’ve been getting anxious in the last few days and most probably losing my cool with people I shouldn’t, he’s the one who, when I saw him briefly yesterday, was like ‘stay calm, stay calm’. I was like ‘you know what I don’t know if I can do that, and it’s not in my nature like it is in yours’, but I keep on thinking he would want me to try not to lose my cool. I suppose now it’s thinking how he will also be changed by this experience. I just met some of those released and hearing bits and pieces of their story, I know they had a very distressing time.

Have you cried?
Oh yes a lot. Shouted, cried … the whole gamut. I’ve been calmer since I got access to see him, even though its from behind a thick metal grille, but that’s definitely helped to keep me focused on the fact that he’s there and he’s alive and he’s coming back. My emotions have shifted from being extremely angry to being upset, and frustrated wondering what else haven’t I done that could be useful.

In some ways I feel more defiant myself now. I feel that we should stop letting ourselves be intimidated. Now it’s how do we use that energy and that feeling constructively to do practical concrete things that help people who are even more at risk than Munya and I, who are living in the poorest parts of the city who are threatened, and intimidated everyday. That’s the biggest challenge going forward. How do we show solidarity in a practical way with those people?

Because if we don’t and if everyone gives up then where will we be?

According to this update from the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe), the bail hearing for Munyaradzi Gwisai and the six remaining detainees who have been charged with treason will be tomorrow at 9am:

With most of the arrested comrades having been released after the state failed to prove a prima facie (clear) case against them, the battle is still on to secure the release of the six comrades who are still in detention. We are still visiting them at the prisons. Welcome Zimuto is at Harare Remand Prison, Munyaradzi Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo, Tatenda Mombeyarara and Eddison Chakuma are at Harare Central Prison whereas Antonater Choto is at Chikurubi Female Remand Prison. Those four at Central Prison are still in solitary confinement whereas Antonater Choto is not feeling well at Chikurubi. The officers advised that it is not possible for her to see a doctor out of the prison but that the doctor should visit the prison and examine her from there. The lawyers however have filed a bail application today at the High Court and we have been reliably informed that the hearing is set for Friday 11/03/11 at 09:00hrs.

From PlusNews:

NAIROBI — As the world celebrates the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, women and girls across the globe continue to be disproportionately affected by the AIDS pandemic – HIV is the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age worldwide.

IRIN/PlusNews presents five important ways to reduce women’s vulnerability to HIV:

Education: According to UNAIDS, illiterate women are four times more likely to believe there is no way to prevent HIV infection, while in Africa and Latin America, girls with higher levels of education tend to delay first sexual experience and are more likely to insist their partner use a condom. Educating girls has the added advantage of delaying their marriage and increasing their earning ability, both of which reduce their vulnerability to HIV. Educated women are also more likely to access health services for themselves and their children, and to oppose negative cultural practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).

Access to reproductive health services: In many developing countries, women have very limited access to vital reproductive health services. A combination of biological and social factors means women are more vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which, if left untreated, increase their vulnerability to HIV. Women living in humanitarian crises are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and require services such as free, easily available condoms and safe blood for transfusions. Improving access to reproductive health services enables women to make informed choices in determining family size and preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission.

Ending gender violence: One in three women has been beaten, experienced sexual violence or otherwise abused in their lifetime, according to the UN; one in five will be a victim of rape or attempted rape. More often than not, the perpetrators are known to the women. Practices such as early marriage, FGM/C and human trafficking all increase women’s vulnerability to HIV, but more accepted forms of violence, such as marital rape, also play a large part in increasing women’s HIV risk. According to UNAIDS, investment in HIV programming policies and addressing gender inequality and gender-based violence will help to achieve universal targets of HIV prevention, treatment and care.

Economic empowerment: In his book, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, Richard Robbins states that women do two-thirds of the world’s work but receive 10 percent of the world’s income and own just own 1 percent of the means of production. Poverty prevents poor women from controlling when sexual intercourse takes place and if a condom is used, and often forces women into risky transactional sex to feed themselves and their families. According to a 2010 US Government study, empowerment activities such as micro-finance give women access to and control over vital economic resources, ultimately enhancing their ability not only to mitigate the impact of HIV, but also to be less vulnerable to HIV.

Involving men: More often than not, men control the dynamics of how, when and where sex happens. Encouraging more men to use condoms consistently has the knock-on effect of protecting their sexual partners from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Men are less likely than women to seek health services; in the case of men involved with multiple women, this means STIs remain untreated for long periods while their female partners are also at risk of infection. Teaching boys and young men to respect women, to be more involved in family activities and to avoid negative behaviour such as gender violence and alcohol abuse helps groom a generation of men who are less likely to take risks that endanger themselves and their families.

Online at: http://www.plusnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92135

Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.
- Janis Joplin, American singer