HARARE – A human rights activist was abducted and tortured early Wednesday by half-a-dozen state security agents armed with assault rifles, lawyers said.
Tatenda Mombeyarara’s captors interrogated him about his role in planned protests by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and their organisation, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said.
“It’s with great sadness and regret that we confirm the abduction, severe assault and torture of Mombeyarara by six heavily-armed unidentified men from his home early this morning,” the rights lawyers said in a statement.
The ZLHR said Mombeyarara was interrogated about “Maldives training” – a reference to a workshop organised by the Center for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) which he and about a dozen other Zimbabweans attended in the Maldives in May.
Mombeyarara and six others were arrested and charged with plotting to subvert a constitutional government on their return after police claimed they had undergone training on how to “topple the incumbent government”. The case is still pending.
Last week, Home Affairs Minister Cain Mathema claimed Srđa Popović, the founder of CANVAS, was in Zimbabwe to help the MDC stage massive anti-government demonstrations, starting in Harare on Friday.
CANVAS has denied that its interaction with the Zimbabwean activists involved teaching the group how to bring down a government.
“The workshop focused on advocacy and civic engagement capacity building such as: developing shared vision of tomorrow; civic engagement; effective communications; protecting privacy and security; and organisational planning,” CANVAS said in a June statement.
Mombeyarara, who works for the Citizens Manifesto, was repeatedly beaten in the soles of his feet in a torture method common with Zimbabwean security forces, the ZLHR said. He was later dumped at a quarry near Hatfield.
The statement continued: “The heavily-armed men also asked him about August 16 protests. They wanted details on the number of people and how these protests had been organised. Although Tatenda denied any involvement, the men continued their vicious, barbaric attacks on him.
“The six men used a torture method commonly known as ‘falanga’, which has been documented in the past as used by most state agents or actors. Many human rights activists have fallen victim to this torture method over the years.
“Four of these men were armed with AK47 rifles, one with a small firearm. The men also had a wireless communication radio – commonly referred to as an ‘Over-Over’ radio. This is not accessible to the ordinary person on the street.
“Mombeyarara is one of those arrested and charged with subverting a constitutional government. His case is before courts. It is regrettable that suspected state agents have used means outside the judicial process.”
The lawyers warned Zimbabwe’s security forces that “torture is an international crime and now part of customary international law.”
“Perpetrators of torture can be prosecuted in any country around the world,” the ZLHR said.
