Tag Archives: Beatrice Mtetwa

News, Politics, Government

Zimbabwe court frees 4 aides to Prime Minister

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Zimbabwe‘s High Court has ordered the release on bail of four officials from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party accused of illegally collecting information on high level corruption.

The four were ordered to appear in court on April 3.

Police allege the officials, two of them former state prosecutors, possessed police files on corruption cases.

High court judge Chinembiri Bhunu on Wednesday ordered the four to post $500 bail each. He said they should not have been denied bail because they were well-known public figures unlikely to abscond from justice.

Prominent Zimbabwe human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who was arrested by police while trying to represent the four officials, was on Monday also released on bail after spending eight nights in jail.

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Zimbabwe court orders rights lawyer to be released

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Zimbabwe‘s High Court orders the immediate release of a prominent rights lawyer detained for eight days for obstructing the course of justice.

Court officials said Beatrice Mtetwa was asked to post a $500 bail and her release papers will be prepared Monday.

High Court Judge Joseph Musakwa ruled that Mtetwa was following professional legal procedures when she demanded to see a search warrant from police at the offices of four officials in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai‘s party. Those officials are accused of illegally compiling information on high level corruption and will appeal for bail later Monday.

Mtetwa and the four officials deny any wrongdoing.

Lawyers’ groups have cited the arrests as intimidation against opponents of President Robert Mugabe by loyalist police and officials ahead of elections around July.

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Zimbabwe rights lawyer bail appeal postponed

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A Zimbabwe court has postponed a bail appeal to release the nation’s top rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa.

Mtetwa was arrested Sunday on allegations of obstructing justice and will spend eight nights in jail before she reappears in court on Monday.

High court judge Joseph Musakwa said Friday that state prosecutors need more time to go through Mtetwa’s papers of appeal before proceeding with the hearing.

Mtetwa denies any wrongdoing and says she merely asked police officers to show her a search warrant during a raid on Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai‘s staff offices in Harare.

Obstructing justice carries a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.

Mtetwa holds an array of international awards and has represented Tsvangirai and several of his aides when they were prosecuted by the Mugabe government.

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Zimbabwe PM's party: 2 more staffers arrested

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The Zimbabwe prime minister’s party says police have arrested two more members of his staff, bringing to six the number detained since Sunday.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai “takes this attack on his office as an affront to democracy and the rule of law,” said a statement issued by the party on Thursday.

Four party officials were arrested Sunday, along with prominent rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa who was trying to represent them during police searches of their offices and homes. A former councilman of Tsvangirai’s party was also detained Sunday.

The party’s statement said two janitors at Tsvangirai’s media and communications unit were driven to the central Harare police station Thursday.

The four top officials are accused of compiling information on the state’s failure to prosecute cases of high level corruption.

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News, Politics, Government

Zimbabwe court denies bail to human rights lawyer

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A Zimbabwean magistrate says bail has been denied to a prominent human rights lawyer and must stay in jail until April.

The Harare magistrate said Wednesday that Beatrice Mtetwa, a citizen of Swaziland, is a flight risk and must be held in jail until her next court appearance.

Mtetwa was arrested Sunday and is charged with obstructing justice for trying to give legal representation to four officials in the party of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who were being arrested by police.

Police say that Mtetwa shouted at them. Mtetwa says that she merely told police that they were violating her clients’ rights by carrying out illegal searches. The four officials were also denied bail.

Mtetwa’s prolonged period in jail is seen as a crackdown on critics of President Robert Mugabe.

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Zimbabwe rights lawyer brought to court

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Police in Zimbabwe have brought prominent rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa to a court on charges of obstructing justice after ignoring a judge’s order to release her a day earlier.

Mtetwa, arrested Sunday while representing four officials of the prime minister’s party being searched by police, arrived at the Harare magistrate’s court in an open-back police truck. She greeted colleagues and activists with a spirited wave but was not allowed to speak to reporters.

In court, state prosecutors alleged the four officials in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai‘s office, including his chief legal advisor, were compiling information, some of it in breach of official secrets laws, to discredit the nation’s judicial officials for allegedly not prosecuting corrupt politicians.

Attorneys say they will demand the immediate release of Mtetwa and the four officials.

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Zimbabwe police ignore order to free top lawyer

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An independent Zimbabwean lawyers’ group says the continued detention of one of its top members, the country’s most prominent human rights attorney Beatrice Mtetwa, highlights the urgent need for reform of law enforcement, two days after a referendum on a new constitution to strengthen human rights.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human rights said Monday that a High Court judge, in a special overnight hearing, ordered Mtetwa’s release, but police refused to comply. Mtetwa was arrested Sunday, before dawn.

Mtetwa is charged with obstructing justice while representing four officials of the prime minister’s party, also arrested Sunday.

Irene Petras, director of the lawyers’ group, said the refusal Monday by police to free Mtetwa reinforces calls for a full overhaul of skewed policing before presidential elections later this year.

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Zimbabwe police question PM's party, top lawyer

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The Zimbabwe prime minister’s party says police took three of its senior officials from their homes early on Sunday but gave no reasons for their action.

A prominent human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, was a fourth person taken to a suburban office of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai‘s media and communications department for questioning.

The party said in a statement the three party officials, including senior attorney Thabani Moyo, work on the prime minister’s staff.

Voting in a referendum on a new constitution ended late Saturday. All main party leaders called for a “Yes” vote on constitutional reforms. Another official of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change was arrested before polling began Saturday.

Police enforced a clampdown on rights and pro-democracy groups in the run-up to the referendum vote.

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