Authorities must drop malicious accusations against opposition leaders and journalists

The Zimbabwean authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the opposition leaders and a journalist and drop the malicious charges against them, Amnesty International said today as one of the three appeared in court on a demand for release on bail.

Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and Movement for Democratic Change – Alliance (MDC-A) leader Job Sikhala and spokesman Fadzayi Mahere were arrested between January 8 and 11 for “publishing or communicating harmful false statements in the state”.

“The latest arrests of Hopewell Chin’ono, Job Sikhala and Fadzayi Mahere are part of a growing crackdown on opposition leaders, human rights defenders, activists, journalists and other critical voices. This is in line with the constant harassment and intimidation that we have seen against anyone calling for respect for human rights, transparency and accountability in Zimbabwe in recent times, ”said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s deputy director for southern Africa.

“The Zimbabwean authorities must stop treating human rights with contempt and start tolerating dissenting views.”

On Friday January 8, 2021, police arrested Hopewell Chin’ono and brought him to justice for “publishing or communicating false statements harmful to the state”. He was accused of posting a post on Twitter about an incident involving a police officer allegedly beating a woman in Harare’s central business district as he dispersed a crowd during COVID regulation enforcement -19.

Job Sikhala was arrested on January 9 after appearing in Rotten Row Magistrates’ Court in Harare as a member of the Hopewell Chin’ono defense team. He has since appeared before a magistrate on January 11 on similar charges and is back in court today to seek bail. Attorney Fadzayi Mahere, an MDC-A spokesperson lawyer, surrendered to police on January 11 with the same issue after starting to search for her the day before.

She was arrested and appeared in Rotten Row Magistrates’ Court on January 12 in Harare on the same charges as Hopewell and Job. Hopewell and Fadzayi challenge the constitutionality of the charges against them. If found guilty, they can be fined or jailed for up to 20 years or both depending on the gravity of the case against them.

“Authorities must stop using COVID-19 regulations as a pretext for human rights violations and abuses. The government must stop treating dissidents as enemies of the state and allow human rights, including the right to free speech, to flourish, ”said Muleya Mwananyanda.