The ICJ today began a five-day high-level mission to Zimbabwe to investigate into the facts and law surrounding the recent reports of the arrest, detention and beatings of lawyers and human rights defenders.
The ICJ is represented in Zimbabwe by Justice Claire L’Heureux-Dube (Canada), former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and former President of the ICJ and Mr. George Kegoro (Kenya), Executive Director of the International Commission of Jurists, Kenya Section.
During the five-day mission, 5 to 9 June, Justice L’Heureux-Dube and Mr. Kegoro will visit Harare where they have requested meetings with senior Government officials, including the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Police Commissioner, as well as with the Chief Justice and the Judge President. The ICJ representatives will also meet with lawyers who have been detained in recent weeks and will seek to visit lawyers currently in custody.
The ICJ mission will inquire into the detention of members of the Zimbabwe legal community, the alleged denial of their right to represent their clients and allegations of the use of force by security officials during recent demonstrations by lawyers.
Zimbabwe-mission arrests detention-web-2007 (full text, PDF)