Joint UPR report
Zimbabwe
On 24 March 2016, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and L4L submitted a joint report for the Universal Periodic Review of Zimbabwe.
In the report, the organizations highlighted that human rights defenders continue to face harassment, violence, arbitrary arrest and malicious prosecution. Lawyers are amongst those human rights defenders that face particular risk. Lawyers promoting human rights and access to justice are often the subject of harassment. There are many reports of arrest, detention and abuse from lawyers; often associated with their client’s cause. Amongst them are lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who was was arrested and charged with obstructing justice in 2013 and lawyer Kennedy Masiye, who was physically attacked by police officers, when he tried to intervene in an assault by police officers on journalist Itai Dzamara. Masiye was left severely injured with a broken arm.