A 16-YEAR-OLD Epworth girl, who was arrested last week alongside 60 other suspected anti-government protesters from the populous settlement, collapsed at the Harare Magistrates’ Court last Friday due to injuries sustained during torture by State security agents.
BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE
The teenager, who was bleeding from the mouth and could not be named to protect her identity, was immediately rushed to Parirenyatwa Hospital for medical examination after she briefly appeared before magistrate Francis Mapfumo.
When the State sought to have her tried separately, the defence led by Nontokozo Dube-Tachiona stood its ground saying she must be tried together with her co-accused, the majority of who had visible assault injuries.
Mapfumo ordered for the suspects to be medically examined at private hospitals as prison doctors were overwhelmed, as they had to attend to dozens of suspects arrested in connection with the violent protests.
The teenager’s condition could not be ascertained at the time of going to print, but the court ordered that after treatment she be released into the custody of her grandmother.
