U.N.: Magistrate dragged from court, beaten shows Zimbabwe breaches international legal standards

yahoo.com ^ | Aug 30, 2002 - 8:27 PM ET | AP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

GENEVA - Zimbabwean authorities breached international legal standards by failing to protect from attack by supporters of President Robert Mugabe a magistrate who refused to detain opposition members, a United Nations expert said Friday.

The U.N. special investigator on the freedom of judges and lawyers Param Cumaraswamy said he condemned an assault by Mugabe loyalists on magistrate Walter Chikwanha. Cumaraswamy said in a statement that earlier this month Chikwanha had been dragged from his courtroom in the town of Chipinge and beaten after he refused to place in custody several members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Mugabe supporters also attacked the property of a lawyer who defended the opposition party members, he said.

"The provision of adequate protection to judges and lawyers when their safety is threatened is a basic prerequisite for safeguarding the rule of law," Cumaraswamy said. "This is simply fundamental, in order to guarantee the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal and the protection of human rights."

"The apparent failure to do so in this case represents a serious threat to the independent judicial system in Zimbabwe," he added. "Unfortunately, this represents another example of the Government of Zimbabwe's continuing disregard for the independence of the judiciary and contempt for the rule of law."

Cumaraswamy, a Malaysian lawyer, has criticized Zimbabwe authorities on several previous occasions.

Zimbabwe has been suffering its worst political crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1980. Independent media outlets and opposition activists say they have been subject to attacks by ruling party militants during two years of political unrest.

The government also has ordered the seizure of farms owned by the country's white minority, but has been accused of distributing the confiscated land to its supporters.

Zimbabwe is facing an economic crisis, with nearly half the population of 12.5 million needing food aid.

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[Cincinatus' Wife]

*** "What we saw was selective starvation, the use of food as a political weapon," he said. "Local officials were told that if they didn't deliver the vote, they wouldn't get food for their districts. That's a pretty frightening message in a region that's already facing a major food shortage," Mr. Prendergast said. ***

[Travis McGee]

bttt

[Oztrich Boy]

They were probably *really* conspirators bent on tarnishing the image of the country ahead of President Mugabe's participation at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/742335/posts