THULANI, BHEKI TRIAL AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS - UN EXPERTS 13/06/2014 04:44:00BY PHEPHILE MOTAU Font size: Nation Magazine Editor Bheki Makhubu escorted by an officer from His Majesty’s Correctional Services after he was remanded back to custody. (File pic) MBABANE - The detention and trial of Thulani Maseko and Bheki Makhubu is against Swaziland’s international human rights obligations. This was said by United Nations (UN) human rights experts yesterday. In a statement made in Geneva, they said the detention and trial was contrary to obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The experts were expressing serious concerns on the arrest, detention and prosecution of the duo. They, according to the UN website, are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights, is the general name of the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms of the Human Rights Council that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are charged by the Human Rights Council to monitor, report and offer advice on human rights issues. The experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity. “We condemn the repeated arrests, detention and trial of Mr Maseko and Mr Makhubu and are concerned that these may be directly related to their legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression,” the experts said. They noted that the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland recognised the rights to freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial. The experts said both men were arrested on March 17 and 18 on charges of contempt of the court for publishing articles in The Nation Magazine which questioned the circumstances and rationale of a case pending before the High Court of Swaziland. “They were detained after a summary proceeding in the chief justice’s chambers and were remanded in prison for seven days without appearing before an open court, contrary to the provisions of Swaziland’s Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act,” the experts said. Released They also said Maseko and Makhubu were released on April 6 following a High Court judgment by Judge Mumcy Dlamini who set aside the initial warrant for their arrest as unconstitutional, unlawful and irregular. They were shortly rearrested after the chief justice lodged an appeal to overturn the High Court judgment. For the past two months, the two men have remained detained at the provisional detention centre of Sidwashini in Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland. “Criminal sanctions, in particular imprisonment, for alleged libel or defamation are not proportional to the effective exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression,” said the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue. “At a time when the space for human rights defenders is visibly shrinking, we need to be very vigilant with respect to any case where imprisonment may be directly related to individuals’ work in defence of human rights,” added the new Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Michel Forst. “The right to defend human rights includes the right to freely publish, impart or disseminate views and information on all human rights and fundamental freedoms both in law and in practice,” Forst said. Human rights expert Mads Andenas, who currently heads the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, appealed to the Government of Swaziland to ‘take all necessary measures to guarantee their right not to be deprived arbitrarily of their liberty and their right to fair proceedings before an independent and impartial tribunal’. The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, noted that Maseko, as a lawyer, had the right to take part in public discussions of matters concerning the law and administration of justice. times.co.sz/news/97473-thulani-bheki-trial-against-human-rights-un-experts.html
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 03:51:52 +0000
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