Lawyers representing the Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell
Chin’ono, held in prison for more than a month pending trial on charges of
inciting violence, will make a fresh attempt to free him on Thursday.
Chin’ono was arrested without a warrant at his home in
Harare almost five weeks ago after publishing a series of investigations into
corruption in Zimbabwe. He has since been held in Chikurubi high security
prison on the outskirts of the capital, and repeated bail applications have
been rejected.
The new effort to free Chin’ono comes as international
concern grows over an ongoing crackdown in Zimbabwe, during which between 50
and 100 opposition party officials, writers, labour activists and others have
been arrested and often detained.
The US, UK, EU and others have condemned the repression.
Local clergy also published a scathing open letter accusing the country’s
president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his government of rampant corruption and an
abuse of power in what they described as an unprecedented crackdown. Images of
political detainees being led to court in leg irons have caused outrage.
Trial documents reveal appalling conditions in the prison.
Chin’ono is held with 40 others in a cell designed to hold 12 inmates, and is
the only unconvicted prisoner, which is a breach of international law.
“I will be strong. I am fine,” he said from inside a prison
van as he arrived at court on Monday, but his legal team say overcrowding and
unsanitary conditions in Chikurubi make it a disaster and a Covid-19 infection
risk.
Zimbabwe has 6,000 confirmed cases of the virus and more
than 166 people have died of the disease during the pandemic, though the
figures are thought to be a fraction of the true totals. No soap or masks have
been provided to detainees in Chikurubi and there is no running water in the
cells, making washing impractical.
The director of health in prisons and correctional services
has also indicated that social distancing in the prison system is impossible,
according to legal documents.
Chin’ono, a respected documentary maker who has worked for
a number of international organisations, faces a lengthy prison sentence. The
charges against him are based on a series of tweets he sent to encourage
attendance at an opposition rally that was due to take place on 31 July. The
authorities banned the protest, citing Covid-19 regulations, and deployed the
army and riot police to disperse any demonstrators.
“What we have seen with Hopewell is unprecedented in the
last 20 years. The crackdown speaks of a regime that is insecure, unstable and
is lashing out against anyone it sees as a threat,” said Doug Coltart, one of
the lawyers representing Chin’ono. “As the government become more and more
unpopular, more and more people are going to take action and more of them will
become targets of the regime.”
Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 following the military-led
ousting of Robert Mugabe, whose dictatorial rule lasted almost 40 years. A
former spy chief known as “the Crocodile”, he promised political and economic
reform leading to major investment from overseas.
The economic situation has since deteriorated, however,
plunging millions of people into poverty. Inflation is running at more than
800%, and basic foodstuffs are often difficult to obtain.
The ruling Zanu-PF party has becoming increasingly
authoritarian, but the divided opposition parties have been unable to mobilise
sustained protests. There are also widespread reports of systematic corruption
and infighting within the country’s political elite.
At Harare magistrates court on Wednesday, the trial
continued of three women, including an MP, who were abducted, sexually
assaulted and badly beaten in March. They have been charged with fabricating
the episode.
More than a dozen protesters, including the award-winning
author Tsitsi Dangarembga, were arrested on 31 July and later freed on bail.
All have been charged with inciting public violence. Guardian
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