- From October 2008 to December 2008 at least 30 human rights defenders and political activists were abducted, detained and tortured by government security forces. All but three of these detainees have been released but their politically motivated charges remain.
- Three of the detainees remain in a maximum security facility facing charges of terrorism believed to be fabricated by the government.
- Ten political activists were arrested in February 2009 for participating in a peaceful protest.
- Roy Bennett, a prominent Movement for Democratic Change politician, was arrested in February 2009. The charges appear to be politically motivated.
- A cholera epidemic rages throughout the country because the new government was unable to maintain previously operative safe water and sanitation systems. When cholera emerged, the government was unable to provide prompt infection control and patient care. It has infected 100,000 people and killed at least 4000.
- Tuberculosis may soon take over cholera as the leading cause of death.
- In an early 2009 routine assessment by UNICEF of the 70 schools visited, 66 schools were abandoned. In the operational schools, only a third of the children were present.
84% of Zimbabweans live on less than $2 a day. Hyperinflation 12,500,000% in July 2008.
In the face of this worsening crisis, Women for Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) have been peacefully demonstrating. WOZA has over 35,000 human rights activists throughout Zimbabwe. They organize and participate in peaceful street demonstrations throughout the country protesting the worsening social, economic and human rights conditions in the country.
On May 28, 2008, WOZA leaders Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were arrested with a group of activists who were peacefully demonstrating for an end to the violence that followed the March 2008 elections. The WOZA members were arrested and allegedly beaten and detained in deplorable prison conditions. Many of the activists were released soon after their arrests. Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were held until July.
On October 16, 2008 about 200 WOZA activists demonstrated to call for immediate access to food aid in Zimbabwe. Police reportedly used excessive force to break up the demonstration. Jenni Wiliams and Magodonga Mahlangu were arrested. Magodonga Mahlangu was beaten by police during her arrest. Click here to view a video of their arrest – WOZA: Demonstrating Under Dictatorship
To learn more about Zimbabwe: http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/zimbabwe/.
To learn more about WOZA: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/world/africa/18williams.html?emc=eta1
Amnesty International and Physicians for Human Rights are therefore calling for the United Nations and the African Union to send civilian human rights monitors to Zimbabwe to forestall further human rights abuses and to help ensure Zimbabwe’s fledgling unity government’s transition toward democracy and rule of law.
HOW CAN I HELP?
- Sign the petition located at: http://zimhumanrights.org/sign-the-petition/.
- Circulate a petition to the Zimbabwean Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for the protection of WOZA members: http://www.amnestyusa.org/action/special/WOZAPetitionrevised.pdf .
- Send a letter on behalf of the WOZA members to the Zimbabwean Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for the protection of WOZA members: http://www.amnestyusa.org/action/special/sampleletter.pdf.
