Zimbabwe: ICJ welcomes the acquittal of Joana Mamombe and Cecelia Revai Chimbiri by the high court on criminal charges of communicating false statements related to their abduction, torture and sexual assault

Zimbabwe: ICJ welcomes the acquittal of Joana Mamombe and Cecelia Revai Chimbiri by the high court on criminal charges of communicating false statements related to their abduction, torture and sexual assault

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the judgment of the Harare High Court which has acquitted human rights activists Joana Mamombe and Cecelia Revai Chimbiri following their arrest on 10 June 2020. The case reviewed magistrate Faith Mashure’s decision to charge the women for “publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State”, or alternatively, “defeating or obstructing the course of justice”. The high court held that the magistrate’s finding of a prima facie case against the human rights activists was grossly unreasonable and attributed to bias and mala fides. 

Zimbabwe: Assailants who violently attacked human rights lawyer Obey Shava must be held accountable

Zimbabwe: Assailants who violently attacked human rights lawyer Obey Shava must be held accountable

The ICJ condemns the violent attacks on human rights lawyer, Obey Shava, who was severely beaten by four unidentified assailants The Zimbabwean authorities must conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into his assault and bring to justice those responsible for the attack. They must also take measures to protect Obey Shava’s well-being and physical safety

Obey Shava is a human rights lawyer, co-founder of Shava Law Chambers, and a member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). He has been providing legal representation to activists from the Zimbabwean opposition party, Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). CCC spokesperson, Fadzayi Mahere, described the incident as a cowardly act done at a time Shava has been litigating on behalf of her party in the double candidates fraud cases as well as electoral appeals that have emerged in the build-up to the country’s harmonized elections on August 23.

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