7 abductees charged as state continues playing legal game

Seven activists on Wednesday appeared in the Harare Magistrates Court in
connection with a series of minor bomb blasts in the capital last year. They
became the first group of the more than 40 abductees, to be formally charged
by the state.

The seven, including the Tsvangirai MDC head of security Chris Dhlamini and
Tsvangirai's former aide Gandhi Mudzingwa, all pleaded not guilty to the
charges of terrorism, banditry and insurgency laid against them on
Wednesday. Defence lawyer Andrew Makoni explained that the case was further
deferred to Thursday and said a new application has been filed on behalf of
the seven, listing their complaints about their treatment during their
unlawful detention. Makoni argued that despite the charges, the defence is
still fighting for the group's remand to be refused, saying there is "no
evident reason or knowable suspicion for the group to be placed on remand."

In court lawyer Alec Muchadehama said the group had been 'severely tortured'
by state security agents after their abductions, and explained that not a
single member of the group had been lawfully detained. He said: "No arrest
took place. Each one of them is a victim of abduction and forced
disappearance by state agents. None of them was arrested in terms of the
law."

The group could face the death penalty if they are found guilty of being
involved in two minor blasts at Harare police stations and a blast at a
railway line in Norton last year. The questionable circumstances surrounding
the blasts, which at the time were linked to a ZANU PF attempt to implicate
the MDC, and the subsequent abductions and charging of the seven activists,
has raised questions over whether the bombs were in fact set off to create
convenient evidence in the current case.

Adding more fuel to the fire is speculation this week that a so-called
'assassination attempt,' targeting Air Force Commander Perrence Shiri last
year, was in fact an elaborate hoax by Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF as part of it's
ongoing effort to build a case against the MDC. Shiri was supposedly wounded
in the hand after being shot at while driving from his farm in Shamva in
December. In the days that followed, state-controlled media launched a
propaganda assault on the MDC, reporting that the attack was a "build up of
terror attacks targeting high profile persons, government officials,
government establishments and public transportation systems".

The deliberate manipulation of events to build a case against the MDC has
been clearly evident in the case launched against abducted human rights
activist Jestina Mukoko and her eight co-accused. The group is yet to be
formally charged after being accused of attempting to recruit fighters to
train in neighboring Botswana to overthrow Mugabe. Their case was postponed
for the second time this week on Tuesday, and the group is set to remain in
custody until their next Magistrate's Court appearance on the 14th January.
Lawyers are still pursuing applications in the High Court for the abductees
to receive proper care outside of the Chikurubi prison where they are being
held. But despite evidence of being tortured and seriously injured during
their detention, a High Court judge over the weekend refused to handle the
medical affidavits, citing a 'legal irregularity'.

Such legal irregularities have been prominent since the abductees' first
court appearances last year, as the state has continued to play a legal game
with the defence and the abductees. Mukoko and the other abductees that have
been accounted for meanwhile have been shuttled to and from solitary
confinement; all while being denied medical treatment. This includes the two
year old son of Violet Mupfuranhehwe who is held in solitary confinement
with his mother, and who is also yet to receive proper medical care after
being beaten in a very cruel effort to glean information from his mother.

And while such a high stakes game is being played in court, it would appear
that the safety and whereabouts of at least 10 other abductees remains
either a closely guarded secret or a mystery. The MDC has said that more
than 40 people were abducted last year, and despite Tsvangirai issuing
Mugabe with what has proved to be a fruitless ultimatum to produce the
abductees by the 1st January, only 30 people were eventually produced.