The following update from the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe) shares some of the challenges Munyaradzi Gwisai and the 44 others who have been charged with treason have faced during their prolonged detention:

We had been paying the rentals of the families of the detained and to give them some cash to meet their daily basic requirements. A Trust was set up called Fourty-Five Social Response Trust in order to ensure that the needs of the detained and their families are met. Currently all the funds we received are being administered by a law firm in town to ensure accountability. We are currently working on the issue of a bank account for the trust in order to ensure that all funds are deposited in one account.

Now back to the affairs of the detained: We visited them during the week and they were being examined by medical doctors of their choice to check on their health as per the court order and this was being facilitated by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. We were reliably informed that by Friday afternoon the doctors had finished examining everyone and the only pending issue was the medicines and further examination to some who needed special attention for example Antonetter Choto and a few others.

On Saturday morning we visited the male remand prison only to be told that half (17) of the prisoners had been moved to Harare Central Prison (a prison designed for convicted persons only) and the other
17 remained at the remand prison. Those who had been moved told us that they were moved on Friday evening and they were in solitary confinement, one in his own cell. They were allowed 30 minutes exercise in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening and the rest 23 hours they had to spend in a locked cell, each person by himself.

We could see frustration and distress on the faces of these 17 comrades. We asked in vain to get an explanation as to why these people who are not yet convicts were in a prison for the convicted. We however managed to give them food and drinks. We advised the lawyers on the matter and they said they will look into it. The comrades are however due to attend court on Monday 07/03/11.

This entry was posted on March 7th, 2011 at 7:49 am by Amanda Atwood and is filed under Governance, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.