Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Lawyers march in protest over harassment

from the Zimbabwe Times:

HARARE - Zimbabwean lawyers on Tuesday defied a police ban and marched through the streets of Harare to protest against government’s alleged harassment of lawyers and journalists....

Some of the placards read, “Stop Abductions Now” and “Rule of Law not Rule by Law.”

The police officers cooperated with the lawyers and granted access to three representatives into the government offices to present a petition....
The march by the lawyers comes barely a week after the arrest of prominent human rights lawyer Muchadehama and two Zimbabwe Independent newspaper journalists.

Muchadehama was charged with seeking to improperly release a group of human rights and political prisoners that he has been representing. A clerk of the High Court was also arrested on the same charges.

The journalists were arrested for allegedly publishing falsehoods after the Zimbabwe Independent ran a story naming members of the state security agencies who were involved in the abduction of political and human rights activists last October.

Several other lawyers have been threatened with arrest for carrying out their official duties. A High Court judge has in the past indicated that a prominent Harare rights lawyer might be charged for utterances that were made against the High Court.,,,

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