News / National
Human rights lawyers accuse Chinamsa of misinforming Zimbabweans
10 Apr 2011 at 06:27hrs | Views
Human rights lawyers have accused Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs Patrick Chinamasa and the police of misinforming Zimbabweans, by saying suspects can be detained in prisons without being brought to court while magistrates are on strike.
Chinamasa, of Zanu-PF, told the state-run Herald newspaper there was an option of taking suspects to facilities such as Chikurubi, to "off-load some of them there" while police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena told the Financial Gazette that all those in police custody would be detained until the strike by magistrates ended and that the police would issue warrants for further detention of suspects.
But Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has lashed out at Chinamasa and Bvudzijena, accusing them of misinforming Zimbabweans by allegedly claiming the only option available in the absence of magistrates would be to hold detainees in prison.
ZLHR said Zimbabwe's laws - in particular the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act - provide that, in the absence of magistrates, the police should take suspects and detainees before any high court judge for an initial remand and that suspects be given the opportunity to be released on bail.
"What is most worrying are reports that the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs are proceeding on the dangerous misconception that accused persons can be lodged in remand prisons without the right to be brought before a magistrate, or judge, to be placed on remand and apply for bail.
"Our laws allow for such accused persons to be taken before any judge, thus before the High Court of Zimbabwe, to argue for their liberty as guaranteed in the Constitution of Zimbabwe," ZLHR told the Sunday Times.
Besides lashing out at the police and Chinamasa, ZLHR warned and called on the Zimbabwe Prison Service to "refuse to accept detainees for incarceration in remand prisons without a valid warrant for imprisonment, issued by either a magistrate or a judge".
ZLHR urged Chinamasa and the police to "desist from misleading the public into believing that detainees can simply be imprisoned without due process of the law".
Scores of suspects arrested this week have been detained in police cells since Monday, when magistrates downed tools to protest against poor working conditions and the government's reluctance to give them salary increases.
Later in the week President Robert Mugabe, however, promised to review salaries for government employees who earn between $150 and $300 a month.
After the pledge, the striking magistrates made an about turn, suspended their boycott and resumed work.
Chinamasa, of Zanu-PF, told the state-run Herald newspaper there was an option of taking suspects to facilities such as Chikurubi, to "off-load some of them there" while police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena told the Financial Gazette that all those in police custody would be detained until the strike by magistrates ended and that the police would issue warrants for further detention of suspects.
But Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has lashed out at Chinamasa and Bvudzijena, accusing them of misinforming Zimbabweans by allegedly claiming the only option available in the absence of magistrates would be to hold detainees in prison.
ZLHR said Zimbabwe's laws - in particular the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act - provide that, in the absence of magistrates, the police should take suspects and detainees before any high court judge for an initial remand and that suspects be given the opportunity to be released on bail.
"What is most worrying are reports that the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs are proceeding on the dangerous misconception that accused persons can be lodged in remand prisons without the right to be brought before a magistrate, or judge, to be placed on remand and apply for bail.
"Our laws allow for such accused persons to be taken before any judge, thus before the High Court of Zimbabwe, to argue for their liberty as guaranteed in the Constitution of Zimbabwe," ZLHR told the Sunday Times.
Besides lashing out at the police and Chinamasa, ZLHR warned and called on the Zimbabwe Prison Service to "refuse to accept detainees for incarceration in remand prisons without a valid warrant for imprisonment, issued by either a magistrate or a judge".
ZLHR urged Chinamasa and the police to "desist from misleading the public into believing that detainees can simply be imprisoned without due process of the law".
Scores of suspects arrested this week have been detained in police cells since Monday, when magistrates downed tools to protest against poor working conditions and the government's reluctance to give them salary increases.
Later in the week President Robert Mugabe, however, promised to review salaries for government employees who earn between $150 and $300 a month.
After the pledge, the striking magistrates made an about turn, suspended their boycott and resumed work.
Source - Sapa
