Group wants Mugabe charged for rights abuses!

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By Farisai Gonye

HARARE - The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) says it will renew this week's
torture of Zimbabwe opposition leaders to renew efforts to have President
Robert Mugabe indicted for human rights abuses in international courts.

The Pretoria-based rights group last year failed to have Mugabe prosecuted
in Canadian with the Canadians saying the Zimbabwean leader could not be
dragged before the courts because he was a serving head of state.

Gabriel Shumba, the ZEF executive director on Friday said his organisation
was already liasing with Canadian lawyers to press the country to revisit
its decision not to indict Mugabe following this week's events in Harare.

"The latest torture and state-sanctioned savage attacks on opposition and
civil society activists vindicates our position that Mugabe must be hauled
before regional and international courts," said Shumba.

Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads the main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party, together with several senior officials of his party,
were severely tortured while in police custody.

Images of a bruised Tsvangirai triggered international condemnation of the
Zimbabwean government this week.

Shumba said his organisation would also seek to use legislation in other
countries to indict Mugabe.?

"ZEF is now intensifying its lobbying and advocacy efforts towards the
issuance of an international warrant of arrest against Mugabe and those
serving under him. We will soon urge the Canadian government to review its
stance regarding the commencement of criminal proceedings against Mugabe.

"The contempt with which court orders are treated in Zimbabwe is another
evidence why justice cannot be obtained inside the country, apart from the
fact that the judiciary is hugely intimidated and in many instances
deliberately biased in favour of the government," said Shumba. - ZimOnline