Responding to the arbitrary arrest and detention of two lawyers Doug Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi by Zimbabwe police on 4 September 2023, for representing Womberaiishe Nhende an opposition elected councillor and Sonele Mukhuhlani, who were abducted and tortured over the weekend, Khanyo Farisè, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa, said:
“We strongly condemn the arrest and detention of human rights lawyers simply for discharging their functions. Their arrests are a travesty and mark a new low for what is left of the rule of law in Zimbabwe. Charges against Doug Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi must be dropped.
“The arrest and detention of Doug Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi is an attack on the independence of the legal profession and fair trial rights in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean human rights lawyers have fearlessly defended targeted human rights defenders and political activists in the context of systematic violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly which have intensified in the run up to Zimbabwe’s 2023 general elections.
The arrest and detention of Doug Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi is an attack on the independence of the legal profession and fair trial rights in Zimbabwe
Khanyo Farisè, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa
“Authorities must uphold international standards on the independence of the legal profession and fair trial rights by ensuring that lawyers are not targeted for discharging their function of defending their clients. Lawyers should be able to discharge their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference. Lawyers should not be identified with their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.”
Lawyers should be able to discharge their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.
Khanyo Farisè
Background
On 4 September 2023, human rights lawyers Doug Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) who are representing two Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) members, who had been abducted and were receiving treatment at a hospital in Harare, were arrested and charged with obstructing the course of justice. The two lawyers were arrested for advising the police that the two political opposition members were in a bad state and were under medical care. They were denied bail by the police. Their clients, Womberaiishe Nhende, the elected Councilor for Glen Norah Ward 27 in Harare, and Sonele Mukhuhlani, were abducted and tortured before being dumped on the outskirts of Harare on 2 September 2023.
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