Freedom of Speech & Zimbabwe

A couple of days ago Jams posted that Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai had pulled out of the presidential run off leaving Mugabe to stand unopposed.

I commented that Lovemore Matombo, President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and Wellington Chibebe, General Secretary of ZCTU were due in court yesterday to face charges of spreading falsehoods prejudicial to the state. The TUC report that the trial has been postponed:

"The trial in Zimbabwe has been postponed until 30 July, after prosecutors and the magistrate failed to attend the trial, leaving the defendants to wait over three hours to find out that they would not face trial yet. Bail conditions of no public gatherings have been kept in force until the new trial date, further denying the men their human rights to free expression for another month, in an attempt to keep them quiet about the worsening situation in the country."

In advance of the court appearance a last minute campaign was called asking people to supply a face shot of themselves to be included in a giant mosaic of Lovemore and Wellington. This allowed them to appear in a demonstration that took place in London yesterday even though they have been silenced in their own country.

The campaign calls for:

• trade unionists to be free to organise and speak without being arrested and tortured
• an end to violence and intimidation
• real democracy for Zimbabwe
• justice and rights for Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans
  

From the TUC website.

originally uploaded by dblackadder.