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Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Torture By State Agents In Zimbabwe 3 The failure by the police to investigate crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping which were committed by supporters of the ruling party and the war veterans during the period preceding the general elections. 4 The attacks on the freedom of the press, which constitute a very grave situation and undermine the basic rights of all citizens to have access to information about the nation. These attacks have been made together with the blatant use of hate speech and racist rhetoric by a large number of Government ministers, Zanu PF officials and war veterans which are contrary to the laws of this country. The President and the Government have a constitutional duty to ensure that plurality of views is protected. We thus call upon the Government to take immediate steps to redress these situations and to institute investigations under the law of all parties who are in breach of the laws as indicated above. As regards violence, we note the following: 1 A very large number of human rights violations have occurred. Torture, cruel and inhuman and degrading treatment continue to be practised on a wide scale and the concerns of the Human Rights Forum expressed in earlier reports seem to have little effect upon the Government and the police. War veterans, members of Zanu PF and its supporters seem to believe that they have the right to infringe on other people’s rights without being held responsible or accountable at law. This seems to have been bolstered by the formal impunity contained in the clemency order. 2 The Zimbabwe Republic Police displayed indifference to the plight of the victims during the violence and in following up on charges pressed by the victims. This indifference must be strongly condemned. We repeat our calls for immediate investigations and prosecutions of all persons, irrespective of rank or political party affiliation. We condemn the clemency order and maintain our demand for the setting up of an independent judicial commission to investigate both pre and post-election violence. TORTURE DURING 2001 Although there were periods during 2001 when organised violence and torture declined in relation to previous years, it was apparent that organised violence and torture did increase in association with the various parliamentary by-elections that took place. However, there was an absolute increase in organised violence and torture from the middle of the year as the campaign for the Presidential election took off in earnest. As the violence generally increased, so did the number of cases in which members of the police, the CIO and the army were alleged to be the primary perpetrators. This caused the Human Rights Forum to re-examine the evidence it had accumulated from past years. It found that the police, the CIO and the army had been implicated in violence to a far greater extent than it had realised. 8 As commented in the Annual Report of the Legal Unit for 2001: After a decent stock-take, it is clear that despite our recommendations for the years 1999 and 2000, there has not been any serious attempt by the government to restore the rule of law. Certain individuals still behaved as if they were above the law. We demand a restoration of the rule of law. In this respect, we reiterate our concern over the failure by the government to ensure that the police carry out their duties in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Police Act. During the year, the failure by the 8 See Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (2001), Who was responsible? Alleged perpetrators and their crimes during the 2000 Parliamentary Election Period, HARARE: ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM. 10
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Torture By State Agents In Zimbabwe police to provide protection to victims of gross human rights violations was a continuing cause for concern. Partisan policing must end and all Zimbabweans must be afforded the equal protection of the law. We strongly condemn politically motivated violence and intimidation. As Presidential Elections are not far off and violence is likely to flare up, we reiterate the demand we have made since the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO was formed - that the government should set up an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the widespread human rights abuses. We urge the government to judiciously observe its international obligations for the protection of human rights. In particular, all reports of human rights abuses must be investigated and the suspected offenders must be tried by a court of law. If they are found guilty the offenders must be punished in accordance with the law. It is for this reason that we call upon the government to revoke the General Amnesty of 6 October 2000. 9 TORTURE IN 2002 POLICE INVOLVEMENT IN ORGANISED VIOLENCE AND TORTURE Against this background, it is scarcely surprising that we saw little change in 2002. However, it is surprising that we should have witnessed an absolute increase in organised violence and torture and an absolute increase in cases in which the police were alleged to have been involved. A previous dossier issued by a member of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum included 36 cases of police involvement out of a total of 180 cases reported upon 10 . The dossier alleged that the police, the CIO and, to a lesser degree, the Army were all involved in gross human rights violations. Table 1 below shows the trend indicated in this report and it is clear from this evidence that the police are implicated with much greater frequency than in the past. Table 1 Perpetrators identified by victims Perpetrator Percentage ZanuPF(PF) supporters 46% Youth militia 29% Zimbabwe Republic Police 12% MDC 5% War veterans 4% Zimbabwe National Army 2% Unknown 2% 9 See Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (2002), Annual Report of the Legal Unit for 2001 10 See AMANI (2002), Beating your opposition. Torture during the 2002 Presidential campaign in Zimbabwe, HARARE: AMANI TRUST. 11
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