Zimbabwean authorities broke international law by failing to protect a magistrate who refused to detain opposition members and was later assaulted by supporters of President Robert Mugabe, a United Nations expert said on Friday.
The UN special investigator on the freedom of judges and lawyers, Param Cumaraswamy, said he condemned an attack by Mugabe loyalists on magistrate Walter Chikwanha.
Cumaraswamy said in a statement that earlier this month Chikwanha had been dragged from his courtroom in the town of Chipinge and beaten after he refused to place in custody several members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Mugabe supporters also attacked the property of a lawyer who defended the opposition party members, he said.
”The provision of adequate protection to judges and lawyers when their safety is threatened is a basic prerequisite for safeguarding the rule of law,” Cumaraswamy said. ”This is simply fundamental, in order to guarantee the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal and the protection of human rights.”
”The apparent failure to do so in this case represents a serious threat to the independent judicial system in Zimbabwe,” he added.
”Unfortunately, this represents another example of the government of Zimbabwe’s continuing disregard for the independence of the judiciary and contempt for the rule of law.”
Cumaraswamy, a Malaysian lawyer, has criticized Zimbabwe authorities on several previous occasions.
Zimbabwe has been suffering its worst political crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1980. Independent media outlets and opposition activists say they have been subject to attacks by ruling party militants during two years of political unrest.
The government also has ordered the seizure of farms owned by the country’s white minority, but has been accused of distributing the confiscated land to its supporters.
Zimbabwe is facing an economic crisis, with nearly half the population of 12,5-million needing food aid.
Meanwhile, Mugabe arrived in Johannesburg on Saturday morning to attend the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Sandton.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Mugabe arrived at the Johannesburg International Airport. He will be attending the heads of state meeting next week. – Sapa-AP