OVERVIEW

The world commemorated the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June. Zimbabwean civil society also joined in the commemoration with a regional solidarity conference being held in Bulawayo organized jointly by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and Crisis In Zimbabwe Coalition and thereafter the participants attended a church service at St Mary’s Cathedral. The participants, who included Zimbabwean civil society members as well as regional civil society representatives from Zambia and Malawi, resolved to work for solidarity of civil society in the region with regard to human rights and governance and against torture, among other things.

Towards the end of May and at the beginning of June, 9 people were arrested in a bizarre incident, which became commonly known as the “coup plot”. In this foiled coup plot, the 9 had purportedly been involved in a conspiracy to topple the President of Zimbabwe, Hon. Robert Mugabe using force of arms. The 9 were arrested, allegedly heavily assaulted and tortured. Their guilt has yet to be proven. In another instance, the rest of the MDC activists who were arrested and reportedly tortured after March 2007 on allegations of petrol bombing a number of targets were released after more than 72 days of incarceration. They were acquitted due to lack of evidence. In another development WOZA, members were arrested for demonstrating in Filabusi. The Human Rights Forum deplores the use of torture by the State to punish opposition and also to solicit confessions. This is contrary to international human rights instruments to which Zimbabwe is a party. The Forum therefore urges the Government to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of its citizenry regardless of political persuasion or affiliation.

Two MDC activists were also reportedly abducted and then murdered in Matebeleland South. This raises the total of politically motivated murders to 4 by mid - year. This report will however not include these two deaths in the graphs and the summation of the monthly totals, nor will the information be included until the details pertaining to the incident have been sufficiently verified.

The Human Rights Forum notes with satisfaction the lifting of the ban on all political gatherings and rallies and implores the Government to allow the people of Zimbabwe to express themselves freely especially with the coming 2008 Elections in mind.

Totals: 1 June – 30 June 2007

Cumulative Totals: 1 January – 30 June 2007

The graph should be read along with the table depicting the monthly totals of violations for June 2007 on page 11.

Key Abbreviations

Sources: The information contained in this report is derived from statements made to the Public Interest Unit of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum, statements taken by a network of human rights activists and newspaper reports,

Notes to the tables:

Torture:

All cases of torture fall under the definition of torture according to the general definition given in the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment.

The four elements of torture are:

1. Severe pain and suffering, whether physical or mental

2. Intentionally inflicted

3. With a purpose

4. By a state official or another individual acting with the acquiescence of the state.

Those individuals referred to in point # 4 include the ZRP, ZNA, ZPS and the ZNLWVA (as a reserve force of the ZNA) and by any other grouping when directly sanctioned by the state.

Unlawful arrest and detention:

Arrest by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) with no reasonable suspicion that an offence has been committed. Detention thereafter for a period exceeding 48 hours without access to redress through the courts or subsequent release without charge.

Abduction/kidnapping:

A kidnapping by a member(s) of an organised group that is not the ZRP, political party, ZNLWVA, ZNA, MDC, Zanu PF etc

Disappearance:

Kidnapped persons whose whereabouts remained unknown at the time of reporting. Their whereabouts have still to be ascertained through follow up reports or further investigation.

Property related

These are incidents in which property rights have been violated. This includes arson, property damage and destruction and theft.

Cases of Political Violence

Note: The identities of victims whose names have not been published in the press and are not public officials are protected. This is done in order to protect the victim from further violence, intimidation and possible recriminatory attacks.

The purpose of this report is to record the nature of the politically motivated violence and intimidation that continues to prevail in the country. The Monthly Political Violence Reports are primarily based on victims’ accounts, accompanied by medical evidence where possible, obtained from member organisations of the Human Rights Forum and other partner organisations. Use is also made of press reports.

Furthermore, in this edition we include reports on police violence in non – political matters. This serves to demonstrate the way in which violent actions of the state and state agents exceed their legitimate limits and powers and which indicates an increasing and more widespread politicisation of violence.

The Report cannot be considered as the exhaustive record of all incidents of politically-motivated violence in Zimbabwe in the period under review. Nevertheless, every incident reported to the Human Rights Forum directly or through its members is meticulously documented and included in the reports. Care is also taken to record the incidents in the language in which they were reported to the Forum.

The situation prevailing in the country is such that it has not been possible to verify all of these accounts. The Human Rights Forum has done what it can to verify the reports, and is satisfied that the vast majority of them are substantially true. It is also not possible to rule out whether a victim’s account is exaggerated or contains inaccuracies.

All reports derived from the press are denoted with the symbol ∑.

Harare

Harare Central

June 2007

∑. Edmore Gapare, Zvinemi Museye and Rangarirai Mazivofa claimed that they were illegally detained and tortured by the police in connection with a foiled coup. The three have since written to the Minister of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi, seeking compensation to the tune of $22.5 billion. The men were linked to suspected coup plotters Albert Matapo, Emmanuel Marare, Pattison Mupfure, Nyasha Zuvuku, Oncemore Mudzurahona and Shingirai Webster Mutemachani. The latter six have been remanded in custody on treason charges. It is reported that all 9 were tortured in police custody. They were allegedly assaulted and electrocuted on the toes and the head. They were also reportedly assaulted under their feet in order to solicit information on the coup plot. The 3 mentioned above were released without charges being preferred against them while the other 6 are still in police custody. It is reported that the 6 coup plotters were planning to overthrow the current government and replace it with a government that would include Emerson Mnangagwa, the Minister of Rural Housing and Social Amenities. The charges have not yet been proved.

15 June 2007

∑. It is reported that the police seized the passport of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Pro-Senate leader Arthur Mutambara and arrested four officials of his party in Harare. The four were stopped in central Harare and were forcibly searched by the police.

Mutambara had reportedly sent his passport to Harare with the party’s South African based Information Officer, Nqabutho Dube, to facilitate the issuing of a visa at the British Embassy. Mutambara, who was in South Africa attending a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, was due to travel to the United Kingdom.

Those who were arrested, apart from Dube, were Miriam Mushayi, the party’s Deputy Treasurer General, Romuldo Mavedzenge, the party’s Director of Administration and Fungisai Sithole, an Assistant to the Secretary General, Welshman Ncube. Three of the MDC officials were later released from police custody. The police however reportedly refused to release Dube.

7 June 2007

Three male victims, two of whom are employees of the MDC Tsvangirai faction and the other a member of the MDC, were arrested on 28 March 2007 from Harvest House, the MDC Headquarters. During the arrest, they were assaulted, their cell phones taken and their offices doors broken down by armed plain-clothes police officers. The police reportedly took away computers and files and allegedly opened safes using bolt cutters. The victims were incarcerated until 7 June 2007 when they were released on free bail. In custody, they were allegedly tortured and assaulted during interrogation. They report that they were interrogated while in an underground room without lighting. They would be assaulted on the buttocks, under the feet, on the chest, slapped and stamped on while lying on their stomachs. The victims were also allegedly assaulted on the knees with an empty coca cola bottle. They claim they had to be hospitalised during incarceration due to the assaults.

Matebeleland South

Filabusi

18 June 2007

∑. It is reported that about 100 WOZA members were arrested in Filabusi following an attempt to launch the People’s Charter there. The police had reportedly arrested another 100 members following a march in which they were demanding the inclusion of civil society in the Mediation Initiative led by South African President Thabo Mbeki, bringing the total number of arrested WOZA members to 200. Scores of other WOZA members followed their arrested colleagues to the police station in solidarity.

The table below and the graphs on page 4 above depict the number of violations committed on

the persons whose circumstances are described in the report. One individual may have been subjected to many violations and thus appear under several categories of violations.

Monthly totals of human rights violations from 1 January 2007 to 30 June 2007

Administrative Map of ZIMBABWE

Zambia

Mozambique

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (also known as the “Human Rights Forum”) is a coalition comprising 17 member organisations. It has been in existence since January 1998 when non-Governmental organisations working in the field of human rights joined together to provide legal and psychosocial assistance to the victims of the Food Riots of January 1998.

The Human Rights Forum has now expanded its objectives to assist victims of organised violence, using the following definition:

“Organised violence” means the inter-human infliction of significant avoidable pain and suffering by an organised group according to a declared or implied strategy and/or system of ideas and attitudes. It comprises any violent action, which is unacceptable by general human standards, and relates to the victims’ mental and physical well-being.”

The Human Rights Forum operates a Research and Documentation Unit and offers legal services to assist victims of organised violence and torture claim compensation from perpetrators through its Public Interest Unit.

Member organisations of the Human Rights Forum are:

• Amnesty International (Zimbabwe) (AI (Z))

• Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP)

• Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)

• Human Rights Trust of Southern Africa (SAHRIT)

• Legal Resources Foundation (LRF)

• Media Institute of Southen Africa (MISA)

• Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ)

• Nonviolent Action and Strategies for Social Change (NOVASC)

• Transparency International (Zimbabwe) (TI (Z))

• Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

• Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO)

• Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR)

• Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET)

• Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)

• Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)

• Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP)

• Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA)

The Human Rights Forum can be contacted through any member organisation or through:

The Administrator, P O Box 9077, Harare – email: admin@hrforum.co.zw

The Public Interest Unit, P O Box 9077, Harare – email: legal@hrforum.co.zw

The Research Unit, P O Box 9077, Harare – email: research@hrforum.co.zw

Address: 8^th Floor Bluebridge North, Eastgate, Harare; Telephone: 250511 - Fax: 250494

The International Liaison Office, 56- 64 Leonard Street London EC 2A 4JX– email: IntLO@hrforumzim.com

Telephone+44-20-7065-0945

Website: www.hrforumzim.com

Previous reports of the Human Rights Forum can be found on our website.