Arrested activists charged and released

The trade unionists and pro-democracy leaders arrested last week for protesting against the government's management of the economy have all been released, Zimbabwe police told IRIN on Monday. The arrests were condemned by rights groups and the UN Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Bertrand Ramcharan. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told IRIN that all the arrested activists had "appeared in court and some of them have deposited bail, whilst others were released on summons, which means they will appear in court when we want them". He said "there were about 70" activists arrested and that all were "charged with participating in illegal demonstrations". High Commissioner Ramcharan expressed his concern over the 18 November arrests of the trade unionists and civil society activists who had gathered for a protest demonstration in the capital, Harare. The demonstration, declared illegal by the police, was called to draw attention to the rising cost of living and alleged rights abuses by the authorities. Ramcharan appealed to the Zimbabwean government to "take all necessary measures to guarantee the rights of the detained persons and to secure their right to freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with the fundamental principles as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reiterated in the international human rights norms and instruments". Last month the Commission on Human Rights' special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, the chairperson-rapporteur of the commission's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Leila Zerrougui, and the special representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, also expressed concern regarding the arrest of more than forty trade unionists during the demonstration. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called for a stayaway last week to protest the arrests, which went largely unheeded.