WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-06-09 Time: 06:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
By Violet Gonda
Farai Maguwu finally appeared in court on Tuesday, six days after his initial arrest in Mutare, which was in violation of his constitutional rights.
The Director of the Centre for Research Development (CRD) , an organisation that has been investigating rights abuses at the Chiadzwa diamond fields in Marange, is being accused of violating the Criminal Codification Act by allegedly publishing false information.
The State claims he did this ‘knowing that there would be a risk to Zimbabwe’s economic interest’ and that he allegedly ‘earned his living by damaging the government of Zimbabwe’.
Maguwu’s lawyers said they were surprised to see that while their client was initially arrested for recent communications about the controversial Chiadzwa diamonds to the Kimberly Process Monitor Abbey Chikane, these details were not placed before the court.
Lawyer Tinoziva Bere said: “He was definitely arrested on the grounds that he had said something or testified to Chikane and only the police can now answer why they are running away from the Chikane business. I don’t know the politics behind the charge but when he was arrested, his arrest record referred to Chikane.”
It is not yet clear how the State came upon the information with which they are charging the activist.
The Marange diamonds researcher had said that problems started for him when he held a confidential meeting with the South African KP monitor almost a fortnight ago in Mutare. Shortly after the meeting the police ransacked his home and office and confiscated documents and other properties, including his car. CRD staff members were forced to go into hiding and some of Maguwu’s family members were beaten up and arrested.
His lawyers said police have yet to return the confiscated assets and documents. Maguwu was supposed to travel to Israel this month as part of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, to present his organisation’s findings on the crisis in Chiadzwa, especially matters of human rights abuses.
Speaking to SW Radio Africa before his arrest Maguwu accused the KP monitor of setting him up and he is concerned that Chikane revealed some of the confidential issues they discussed to Zimbabwean authorities. Maguwu said: “And this setting up and all these nefarious allegations being levelled against me are simply meant to start a long legal battle that will keep me in the country and that will also paralyse the operations of our organisation. I think that was the intention of Chikane.”
Meanwhile the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said: “Maguwu’s arrest is unwarranted interference with his liberty and with the work of CRD, calculated to cow civil society activists into ignoring abuses by government, particularly the military in the Marange diamond fields.”
The Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition – including Global Witness, Human Rights Watch and Partnership Africa Canada – have said the KP approach on Zimbabwe is ‘very faulty’ and are calling for the suspension of the ‘monitoring arrangement in Zimbabwe, pending further investigations’.
However, in his official report on his findings at the Chiadzwa diamond fields, Abbey Chikane has reportedly said that Zimbabwe ‘complies with its minimum requirements and should be allowed to export its diamonds’.
Original date published: 8 June 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201006090041.html?viewall=1