DEMONSTRATION: anger at attacks on local practitioners


The Law Society has sent a letter of intervention to the government of Zimbabwe, protesting at the harassment, assault and unlawful detention of lawyers there.



Law Society President Fiona Woolf said she was 'dismayed' to hear of the assault and dispersal of lawyers and officials of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, who were taking part in a demonstration about the arrest of two members: Alec Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni.



The two men were arrested outside the country's high court, where they had been arguing for the release of 13 Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) officials who had already been detained for more than a month. The MDC officials have been accused of involvement in an alleged petrol bombing campaign. Critics of the regime have said that the accusation is politically motivated and has no basis in fact.



Reports from Harare have described brutal scenes of mass beatings. Victims included Beatrice Mtetwa, president of the Zimbabwe Law Society, and 80-year-old Eileen Sawyer, executive director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum.



Law societies and human rights groups worldwide condemned the assaults. The Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Solicitors International Human Rights Group and the Bar Human Rights Committee have issued a joint statement calling upon the Zimbabwe government to respect the role of lawyers and ensure they have access to their clients.



Jonathan Rayner