UN Special Rapporteur Concerned About Rights Situation in Zimbabwe Ahead of Elections: Zimbabwe
In an interview from her base in Geneva by WhatsApp, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor says the number of human rights activists facing charges ahead of Zimbabwe's elections is concerning.
"I am very concerned about ongoing legal proceedings against human rights defenders because they are people who are working peacefully for the rights of others," she said."It is legitimate, credible work. There should be no criminalization, no arrests, no torture of human rights defenders. That includes freedom of association, freedom of expression and working for those who are marginalized.
Lawlor says the Zimbabwean government should drop the charges and release those who have been jailed. Obert Masaraure is the president of the Amalgamated Rural Teacher's Union of Zimbabwe, which fights for rights of educators that work in rural areas. He is facing charges of inciting public violence, obstructing justice, subversion and murder but has been released on bail. He says that despite the charges, he will not budge.
"It's not proper for Emmerson Mnangagwa to continue persecuting people through prosecution," Masaraure said."The ongoing lawfare against citizens who are viewed as enemies of Mnangagwa should stop now. Zimbabwe is not Mnangagwa's tuck-shop. Mnangagwa should learn to respect our fundamental rights as defined in the constitution. All the four charges I face today they violate my basic rights.
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