THE Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) yesterday petitioned Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri to identify and charge anti-riot police officers in Harare who last Friday assaulted human rights activist Sydney Chisi without provocation.
BY SILENCE CHARUMBIRA
Video footage of the incident, which has gone viral on social media platforms, shows about 20 police officers indiscriminately bashing Chisi with baton sticks at the corner of First Street and Jason Moyo Avenue in Harare.
The petition was copied to the officer commanding police Harare district, the civil division of the Attorney-General, Prosecutor-General, National Prosecuting Authority and the Human Rights Commission.
Prior to the assault, Chisi, who is director of Youth Initiative for Democracy in Zimbabwe, had participated in the anti-xenophobia demonstration at the South African Embassy.
“My beating is a testimony to our decade-and-a-half-long call that Zimbabwe does not respect human rights, let alone the rule of law,” Chisi said yesterday.
“Targeting an individual living with disability with such brutality shows that the current government is afraid of its shadows. While I was the subject of police brutality, the nation, peace-loving citizens across society and the international community must wake up and smell the coffee that the Zanu PF-led government is not so genuine in its commitments to the new Constitution.”
Chisi sustained injuries on the legs and on the back during the attack.
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“ZLHR will explore and take every step open to it to bring those responsible to account for such reprehensible conduct,” the rights group’s spokesperson Kumbirai Mafunda said.
In a separate statement, Heal Zimbabwe Trust also urged the government to take action against continued use of force by security agents on people engaging in peaceful protests.
“We call for the government and relevant State authorities to take action against the continued use of force and violence by security agents.
“There is never an excuse for police to use excessive force and violence against peaceful protests, thus the need to put an end to such behaviour,” the statement said.
