Amnesty International Report 1996 - Zimbabwe
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Date:
1 January 1996
Three journalists were held briefly as prisoners of conscience. At least 135 people were reportedly injured, some seriously, by the police during student protests. At least six people were sentenced to death and there was one execution. The ruling Zimbabwe African National UnionPatriotic Front (ZANUPF) was returned to power in a general election in April, winning all but two of 150 parliamentary seats. In July the government intervened to prevent a local gay and lesbian organization from participating in the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, whose theme was "Human Rights and Justice". President Robert Mugabe incurred wide international criticism for publicly asserting that gay men and lesbians should be denied their human rights. Three journalists briefly detained and charged with criminal defamation were prisoners of conscience. In May Elias Rusike, Trevor Ncube and Simba Makonike of the Financial Gazette were charged in connection with a story alleging that President Mugabe had secretly married his former secretary. The three men were detained for over 48 hours before being released. In August they were found guilty as charged but were fined rather than sent to prison. Elias Rusike and Trevor Ncube appealed against the conviction. The appeals had not been heard by the end of the year. Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, the veteran leader of the ZANU (Ndonga) opposition party, was arrested in October and charged in connection with alleged attempts by an armed opposition group based in Mozambique to assassinate President Mugabe and overthrow the government. He was released on bail but four others remained in custody on the same charge. None had been tried on this charge by the end of the year, although two of them, Simba Mhlanga and William Namakonya, were tried and convicted on charges of possessing arms of war and were sentenced to 15 and 12 years' imprisonment respectively. At least 135 people were reportedly injured, some seriously, as a result of the deliberate use of excessive force by the police against student protesters in late June and early July. On 29 June, for example, the riot squad of the Zimbabwe Republic Police stormed the campus of the University of Zimbabwe. They fired tear-gas canisters randomly at students and staff and into university buildings, including lecture halls and halls of residence. Blind and disabled students were rounded up and assaulted with baton sticks. The police denied that excessive force had been employed, but a report issued by the University of Zimbabwe in July concluded that such allegations were justified. There were unconfirmed reports that the officer in charge of the riot squad during the disturbances was subsequently moved to another post. At least six people were sentenced to death after being convicted of murder. There was one execution. Morgan Dikwi, convicted in 1992 of the murder of a policeman, was hanged in November. The execution was the first since 1988. In January Amnesty International published a report on several African countries, including Zimbabwe, in which criminal charges such as defamation have been used to harass government critics, and called for an end to such practices (see Kenya entry). Amnesty International repeated this call in May when Elias Rusike, Trevor Ncube and Simba Makonike were detained and charged with criminal defamation. In June the organization called upon the government to ratify those international human rights treaties which it had not yet ratified. Amnesty International was also concerned about the renewed use of the death penalty.
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