Yesterday’s update from the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe) below described what happened in court yesterday in the case of Munyaradzi Gwisai + 44 others who have been charged with treason following a discussion meeting Saturday 19 February.  They are currently appearing in court again today. The Magistrate instructed everyone who was standing to leave, and closed the doors to the court.

The arrested Comrades were scheduled to appear in court today but to our surprise when the time was up for the matter to start we saw a different female magistrate on the bench who advised us that the magistrate who is presiding over the matter was in  a meeting with the Chief Justice. The matter was therefore postponed to tomorrow as the meeting was said to take the whole day today. All the magistrate had to say was that she knew nothing about the case and was not going to hear any petitions from the defence lawyers.  We are therefore going to court again at 11:15am tomorrow. We however visited the male prison and gave them food in the afternoon but we failed to give the females their meal as they were still at the court at the time we visited the prison. The officers refused to accept the food on their behalf.

This statement from Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) describes the harassment currently being experienced by their members:

Seven members, two beaten, all spending night in custody in Bulawayo and were denied food brought in by relatives.

At noon, today 28 February 2011, three Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) members were arrested in Entumbane at a member’s house. Police came into the house where the members were meeting. They made the men present; numbering about 15, hold out their hands. They then arrested Proud Pandeya, Noah Mapfuma who they said had black hands, and according to them this is a sure sign that they smoke cannabis. At this point Gift Nkomo walked in and was also subsequently arrested. They were taken by these plain-clothes police officers to their local police station. One of the police officers fisted Proud four times in the face when they were arrested. They were released them after 2 hours. At five pm, police officers then came to re-arrest them and tried to arrest a fourth member who was not at home. The were said to be being taken to Bulawayo Central Police station for questioning but the feeding team could not locate them there.

At 4pm today, another 4 members were arrested, three women and one male.  They were arrested in the Mabutweni suburb of Bulawayo at the home of  Sitshiyiwe Ngwenya. They were sitting in the house and counting burial society contributions. The four who include Joyce Ndebele, Moreblessing Dube, one a nursing mother, and the male member Kholwani Ndlovu were arrested by plain clothed police officers from Western Commonage police station. They were loaded into a white van and taken to Western Commonage police station in Mpopoma south. The lawyer, Lizwe Jamela of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights was unable to see them as they were being relocated to Bulawayo Central police station.

Relatives, who sacrificed to buy food at a food outlet, as there was no electricity to cook food, arrived at the police station to give the food to the activists but were detained for an hour. Police Officer George Levison Ngwenya, threatened to arrest them for bringing ‘bought’ food but another police officer told them to leave with the food. Kholwani was obviously in pain from being severely beaten and him and the three women arrested at Mabutweni were seen by their relatives in the Law and Order department and were being made to answer profile questions and were due to be relocated for a third time to Sauerstown police station along the airport road.

WOZA leaders wish to express concern for members arrested and for the two male members beaten by police. We also express concern about the whereabouts of the 3 members arrested in Entumbane who were not to be found at Bulawayo Central police station.

WOZA is currently consulting members on the introduction of a development programme to be entitled Demand Dignity – Demand Development. This programme is based on the works of Mahatma Ghandi who combined an obstructive and constructive programme to mobilise independence to the Indian people. The CONSTRUCTIVE (productive and practical) Program emphasises on “cooperating with good” whiles the OBSTRUCTIVE (disruptive and defiant) Program’s emphasis is on “resisting evil.”

Read the latest statement from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on the case of Munyaradzi Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo and 43 other Zimbabweans who have been charged with treason:

Gwisai bemoans torture as Muchadehama challenges placement of activists on remand

Detained social justice activist Munyaradzi Gwisai on Thursday 24 February 2011 lamented the torture sessions to which suspects are subjected by state security agents as tragic and inexpressible.

Gwisai, who testified before Harare Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi during an application for refusal of placement on remand for the 45 human rights activists filed by defence lawyer Alec Muchadehama disclosed in court that he, together with other activists, were subjected to torture sessions during their detention by the police at Harare Central Police Station.

Gwisai said the torture sessions were aimed at securing confessions from the activists which would implicate them in the commission of treason, a charge which they are facing in court.

In narrating his ordeal, Gwisai said he was tortured together with five other detainees in a room in the basement at Harare Central Police Station by nine state security agents who included some police officers who had arrested them.

During the torture sessions, which were recorded on video, the detainees were asked to recount what had transpired during their meeting which was held on Saturday 19 February 2011 in central Harare.

Gwisai said each of the six detainees received a series of lashes which were administered while they lay down on their stomachs. He added that he received between 15 and 20 lashes as the police and his tormentors sought to obtain confessions from him and the other detainees.

Gwisai said the pain which he endured and suffered as a result of the torture sessions was “indescribable, sadistic and a tragedy for Zimbabwe”.

The University of Zimbabwe labour law lecturer said it was extremely difficult for him to sit and walk because of the torture sessions he underwent together with other detainees.

Gwisai said the meeting held on Saturday was held to discuss ISO business and issues of democracy and constitutionalism and not to plot the toppling of the government as alleged by the police and prosecutors. He added that the meeting which was attended by HIV/AIDS activists was also meant to commemorate the life of a deceased HIV and AIDS activist, Navigator Mungoni.

Earlier on Muchadehama outlined the detainees’ complaints against the police.

The detainees’ lawyer said the arrest of his clients was unlawful as they were not advised of the reason/s for their arrest. He also advised that they were over-detained in filthy and stinking police cells. He said the detainees only knew of the treason charge when they finally appeared in court on Wednesday 23 February 2011 and no warned and cautioned statements were recorded in relation to the treason charge.

Muchadehama told the court that the police extensively subjected his clients to severe interrogation sessions where they attempted to coax some of the detainees to turn against their colleagues and be considered State witnesses.

He said some of the detainees were assaulted, brutalised and tortured while in police custody. The defence lawyer said the torture sessions were administered through assaults all over the detainees’ bodies, under their feet and buttocks through the use of broomsticks, metal rods, pieces of timber, open palms and some blunt objects.

In his application for refusal of remand Muchadehama argued that the facts as outlined by the State did not constitute the commission of an offence.

The matter continues on Monday 28 February 2011 when prosecutor Edmore Nyazamba, who applied for the placement of the detainees on remand, cross examines Gwisai. In the meantime, all 45 will remain incarcerated in remand prison in Harare and at Chikurubi Women’s Prison for the women detainees.

My colleague who was arrested on Saturday has still not been released, nor have any of the other 45 detainees including Munyaradzi Gwisai and Hopewell Gumbo. Seven of them were meant to appear in court today and were expected to be charged as organisers of the Saturday meeting – the remainder, including my colleague, thought they would be going home today. Instead, no one appeared in court, and it sounds like police are applying for a warrant for further detention.

I am angered enough by the fact of these 46 people festering in police cells for four nights for no good reason. I’m even more angered by reports that some have been tortured in police custody. Gwisai, for example, reportedly needs help to walk, he has been so badly beaten.

I’m further angered by the reason why these 46 are in custody: They were having a discussion about recent events in North Africa. They watched a video of news clips – the same news clips anyone with satellite television or YouTube access could have watched for themselves.

Some people argue this is a positive development – like look, the regime is scared enough to take this meeting seriously. Others find a silver lining, in that this prolonged detention has sparked email petitions and Facebook pages and news headline and barroom discussions that would otherwise not have happened – like if the regime hadn’t made such a big deal by arresting these people, the meeting would have come and gone and barely made a ripple. Now? There are waves.

But me? I’m just angry. I’m angry and I want them out now.

I’m angry because it’s events like this that put paid to the big lie which is the GPA. It’s not an inclusive government; it’s a regime in Fat Face’s clothing.

I’m angry at myself – for naively thinking that these 46 wouldn’t be arrested when the police appeared at the meeting, and then for thinking that they would be released on Monday, and then for thinking that they would be released on Tuesday. And I’m angry with myself for allowing myself to become so inured to this regime that the fact of the police at the meeting seems normal.

And I’m angry for not having any idea about where to take this anger – for having no idea of a constructive outlet for it. What can I do for my colleague and these 45 other individuals? Who can I appeal to with any hope of success? I feel like the people who might listen don’t have any power. And the people who have power would never listen.

This just in from NANGO: The director and two researchers of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum have been taken into custody at Harare Central Police Station. They are being questioned regarding research they were conducting in Highfields about transitional justice.

Earlier today, the Youth Forum offices were raided by police, who questioned why the organisation is encouraging young people to register to vote.

Read this statement from the Youth Forum:

Youth Forum Offices Attacked, Closed

Six unidentified men, suspected to be state agents, stormed the Youth Forum Offices today demanding to know why the organization is encouraging young people to register to vote. The attack is a direct reaction to the Youth Forum’s program where it’s encouraging young people to register to vote by sending SMSs.

The suspected state agents stormed the offices and started unplugging the organisation’s computers and laptops from the main power supply violently saying they were looking for what they termed ‘Mass Communications Equipment’ that the organization is using to send SMSs to young potential voters. After realising that they could not find such equipment at the Youth Forum’s Headquarters, they became very violent and started pushing around furniture and equipment and shoving around the organization’s secretariat. They were so violent that they frightened a few of the organization’s youth members who had come to the offices with complaints that they were failing to register as voters due to a lot of bureaucracy.

The men demanded to know why the organization is sending SMSs urging young people to vote when the country’s presidents has not yet declared the date of elections. They said these SMSs are causing a lot of problems as the Registrar General’s Office is now clogged with a lot of young men and women who want to register as voters. They also insulted the organization’s national coordinator with words that cannot be spelt out in public notifications like this one. They left after grabbing some literature from the offices and threatened the Youth Forum secretariat with unspecified action if the SMSs continue to reach its targeted audience. They threatened to come back with more arsenals to ‘deal with the organization’. For the concerns of security, the offices of the organization have been temporarily closed until the situation normalises. The national coordinator has visited the offices of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights for legal advice on the matter.

The Youth Forum is currently carrying out a campaign to urge young people to go out and register as voters. The campaign consists of a number of activities that will ensure that most youths become registered voters and will cast their ballots in any election. Among the activities being carried out in the campaign includes the sending of SMSs to an average of 18,000 youths at least three times every week urging them to take their National Identification Cards and proof of residence and go to their nearest Registrar’s office and register to vote. It is these SMSs that have resulted in a lot of youths visiting the responsible offices in their droves trying to register as voters. The Youth Forum is also concerned by the number of youths who are being turned away because of lack of documentation including the death certificates of parents and grandparents. We would like to urge the registrar Generals office to reconsider certain requirements for registering as voters as these are disadvantaging a lot of youths from registering.

We would also like to categorically state that no amount of intimidation or harassment will deter the resolve of the organization from encouraging its members to register as voters. The youths shall register to vote and will vote come election time and no amount of such threats and coercion will stop the youths from voting as this is their democratic right that cannot be taken away from them. The actions by these suspected state agents should be condemned with the strongest terms possible as it only undermines the efforts by the government to democratise the country.

A recent statement from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition reminds us of this quotation from Robert Mugabe at Zimbabwe’s independence:

“Democracy is never mob rule. It is and should remain disciplined rule requiring compliance with the law and social rules. Our independence must thus not be construed as an instrument vesting individuals or groups with the rights to harass and intimidate others into acting against their will.” – Robert Mugabe, April 17, 1980

Read more from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition