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Zim 'using hostage tactics'
25/01/2006 22:41 - (SA)
Harare - Human rights campaigners accused Zimbabwe authorities on Wednesday of using hostage tactics in the pursuit of the government critics after two employees of a prominent lawyer were detained for allegedly obstructing a police investigation into his activities.
Arnold Tsunga's driver and gardener were accused of trying to prevent plainclothes police officers from entering his Harare home on Saturday.
His attorney Beatrice Mtetwa said they were released without charge on Tuesday after Tsunga presented himself to police.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said this represented "a disturbing new tactic in which innocent individuals are being detained in order to unlawfully secure the presence of human rights defenders who have been continually harassed by state authorities or individuals acting on their instructions".
Media laws
Police insisted the arrests were justified, accusing Tsunga's employees of giving him time to escape. The lawyers' group, which Tsunga headed, said he was out shopping at the time.
Tsunga was one of six trustees of an independent broadcast studio who were sought by police for allegedly breaching the country's stringent media laws. All were charged in court on Tuesday with illegally operating a broadcast station.
President Robert Mugabe's government had sought to crack down on his critics as it confronted the worst economic and political crisis since independence from Britain in 1980.
No licences had been issued for private broadcasters in Zimbabwe, where the government controlled the sole authorised radio and television station.
Political programmes
But, at least three private radio stations beamed programmes into the country using long-range transmitters.
Tsunga's Dutch-funded Voice of the People studio produced community and political programmes broadcast into Zimbabwe from short wave transmitters placed outside the country.
Police arrested three staff members on December 15 and held them until their director, John Masuku, and trustee chairman, David Masunda, reported to police on December 19.
Masunda was among the trustees charged on Tuesday, while Masuku also faced a charge of operating without a broadcast licence. The trustees' next court appearance was scheduled for February 10
In August 2002, the Voice of the People offices were destroyed in a nighttime bombing. No arrests were made in connection with the attack.
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Zimbabwe Special Report
