Reporters Without Borders condemns the "unacceptable behaviour" of the Zimbabwean authorities in kidnapping journalist and human rights activist Jestina Mukoko three weeks ago, holding her incommunicado and now accusing her and several other members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of a terrorist plot to overthrow President Robert Mugabe. She faces a possible death sentence.
"The accusations brought against Mukoko are absurd and baseless," Reporters Without Borders said. "We call on the Zimbabwean authorities to free her and withdraw all the charges at once. Coming after a series of kidnappings, the prosecution of these opposition activists has all the hallmarks of a government conspiracy to sabotage the power-sharing agreement."
The Zimbabwean police brought Mukoko and nine other human rights activists before a Harare court on 24 December on charges of organising a Zimbabwean police officer's trip to Botswana to receive military training there with a view to overthrowing Mugabe. Their lawyers, who have not been allowed to see them, said they risked being sentenced to death.
The ten activists are now being held in Chikurubi high security prison although a high court judge ordered on 24 December that they be taken to hospital. They are now being held under a pre-trial detention order that will require renewal on 29 December.
A former presenter for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and then the privately-owned Voice of The People (VOP), Mukoko was kidnapped from her home in Norton (40 km west of Harare) at around 5 a.m. on 3 December by some 15 men in plain clothes. Thereafter, there had been no word of Mukoko until her court appearance. The police had said nothing, aside from denying any knowledge of her whereabouts.
Mukoko heads the Zimbabwe Peace Project, a human rights organisation that has provided constant information about this year's political violence in Zimbabwe, where some 200 supporters of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC have been killed since the party's successful challenge to the ruling ZANU-PF in last March's general elections.
Refusing to recognise its defeat, the ruling party signed a power-sharing deal with the opposition in September but the two sides have failed to agree on its implementation, in particular, the allocation of key ministries. Tsvangirai threatened to pull out of the deal earlier this month after a series of kidnappings of opposition activists.
Reporters Without Borders defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world. It has nine national sections (Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). It has representatives in Bangkok, London, New York, Tokyo and Washington. And it has more than 120 correspondents worldwide.
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Mugabe is a blemish on all of Africa , he is a disgusting lout ! If they imprison Jestina , then it is time to hang the half Malawian bastard ! All those morons like GreenBomb, Book Droll, Phiri , Lock Jaw and others need to shut up, they only make Africa look like bigger fools than we are for permitting these attrocities.
Do not leave out Tsvangirayi - he is equally, if not more to blame if any harm comes to Jestina and other activists. If the government of national unity was up and running all this would have stopped by now, or at least we would be compiling evidence for presentation to SADC as per their ruling. In other words we should be in a more hopeful situation than this - except that Mugabe and Tsvangirayi are holding ordinary people to ransom with their deadly political games.
To say that Tsvangirai is "more to blame if any harm comes to Jestina and other activists" than Mugabe is simple ludicrous. If Tsvangirai had accepted the GNU deal he wouldnt have any power over the police, and this would still have happened.
It has nothing to do with him.
Indie, come now! Morgan is the one responsible for it all including the illegal sanctions. He could have ended the situation years ago and you know it. It's Iraq all over again - DESTROY THE COUNTRY COMPLETELY THEN GET WESTERN COUNTRIES IN TO REBUILD AND STEAL THE RAW MATERIALS. Same shit just another chanel. Shame on you and your cronies!
Seriously, how deluded are you. Now Tsvangirai is responsible for US and European foreign policy? How can you believe that he has any control over these things. I mean, how dumb can you be. Any measures taken by the west would be in place if Tsvangirai existed or not. You forget the root cause of instability in Zimbabwe, the butcher of Harare. If Mugabe held free and fair elections and then accepted the result, there would be no space for any interaction from the west. And besides, I dont understand how banning travel for certain individuals has caused the rampant problems in the Zim economy. And Mugabe has shown that money donated to his country ends up in his own back pockets. How can you defend this?
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