Amnesty International Report 1997 - Zimbabwe

There were reports of torture and ill-treatment of people held in police custody. One person was killed and two others injured when police opened fire into crowds. Seven people were executed and at least five others were sentenced to death. Twenty-two people remained under sentence of death at the end of the year. In July, the government attempted to prohibit a local gay and lesbian organization from participating in the Zimbabwe International Book Fair (see Amnesty International Report 1996). After a High Court ruling quashed the ban, the organization participated briefly in the book fair, despite threats of violence and death from protesters. In November, police briefly detained two trade unionists when riot police broke up a demonstration in support of striking state nurses and doctors, whose seven-week walk-out led to the closure of major hospitals until it ended in December. In October, Parliament passed a 14th amendment to the Constitution, which limits foreigners' citizenship rights and eliminates the right to privacy, while nominally expanding the investigative powers of the Ombudsman. The Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, an opposition leader, remained on bail awaiting trial. His trial was postponed eight times during 1996 and had not begun by the end of the year. He had been arrested in October 1995 and charged with possessing arms, terrorism and conspiring to murder President Robert Mugabe (see Amnesty International Report 1996). In November, the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole appealed to the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the legislation under which the charges were brought against him, which requires him to prove his innocence. His appeal had not been heard by the end of the year. There were reports of torture and ill-treatment of people held in police custody. In January, Abrahama Goletom Joseph Kinfe, an Eritrean national convicted of attempted murder in November 1995, claimed police officers beat him with fists, sticks and rubber batons until he confessed to trying to assassinate former Ethiopian Head of State Mengistu Haile Mariam, now living in exile in Zimbabwe. He appealed to the High Court against his conviction in October. Another man reported that he and a co-worker were beaten with sticks and whips by police in Gwanda town during an interrogation in June. Police shot civilians while trying to disperse crowds, sparking civil unrest. In March, riots began in a Harare suburb after a police officer fired warning shots into a crowd that was trying to stop him from arresting a suspect, killing one person. In another incident in April, two bystanders were shot and injured by a police officer attempting to fire warning shots. In May, a police officer attempting to arrest a woman fired warning shots into a crowd of onlookers. Two people were hospitalized for gunshot wounds and submitted claims to the government for compensation. Seven people were executed during the year, a significant increase over previous years. In February, a prisoner sentenced to death for a murder committed in 1992 was hanged. In September, five other prisoners sentenced to death for murder were executed. Piniel Sindiso Chiduza Ncube was hanged in December after his appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court. At least five other people were sentenced to death after being convicted of murder. The government confirmed that 22 people remained under sentence of death at the end of the year. Amnesty International appealed to Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa to ensure police protection for members of the local lesbian and gay organization which participated in the international book fair. Following the five executions in September, Amnesty International appealed to President Mugabe and other officials to halt executions and commute all death sentences. Country Entries