Abduction of human rights defender Mr Itai Dzamara
Three years after his abduction, human rights defender Itai Dzamara is still missing. The police have failed to fully comply with orders from the High Court in the search for the human rights defender, and the authorities deny any involvement in his disappearance. The human rights defender's legal representatives have issued a Missing Persons Appeal, which has appeared in several local newspapers.
Itai Dzamara is a prominent journalist and organiser of the Occupy Africa Unity Square, a peaceful sit-in launched in October 2014 to demand accountability from the Zimbabwean government for its “failure to satisfy the needs of its people.” The movement has held regular protests since its creation in 2014.
Three weeks after his abduction, human rights defender Itai Dzamara is still missing. The police have failed to fully comply with orders from the High Court in the search for the human rights defender, and the authorities deny any involvement in his disappearance. The human rights defender's legal representatives have issued a Missing Persons Appeal, which has appeared in several local newspapers.
On 13 March 2015, the High Court ordered Zimbabwean authorities to mount a search for Itai Dzamara after hearing an urgent habeas corpus application filed on his behalf on 10 March 2015 by the human rights defender’s spouse. During the hearing, the authorities denied having any knowledge of Dzamara's whereabouts. The High Court instructed the state authorities to take all necessary steps to determine the human rights defender's whereabouts, including advertising his disappearance on all State-owned media. The High Court also ordered the police to help search for the human rights defender by working closely with Itai Dzamara’s legal representatives, and to report on the progress of their investigation every Friday until the human rights defender's location has been determined. Following the court's order, the police issued a statement appealing to the public for information. However, it is reported that Itai Dzamara's legal representatives have not, to date, been contacted by the police.
Itai Dzamara was abducted on 9 March 2015 by five unidentified men from a barber shop in Harare’s suburb of Glenview. Reportedly, the men handcuffed him before taking him away in a white pick-up truck with blurred number plates.
On the morning of 9 March 2015, human rights defender Itai Dzamara was abducted by five unidentified men while at a barber shop in Harare's Glenview suburb. The human rights defender's whereabouts remain unknown, and his spouse has filed a missing person report with the local police.
Itai Dzamara is a prominent journalist and organiser of the Occupy Africa Unity Square, a peaceful sit-in launched in October 2014 to demand accountability from the Zimbabwean government for its “failure to satisfy the needs of its people.” The movement has held regular protests since its creation in 2014.
According to reports, the human rights defender was forced into a white Isuzu vehicle with a blurred registration number plate by five unidentified men. Since his disappearance, Itai Dzamara's mobile phone has been switched off and his family has not heard from him.
Itai Dzamara has faced various threats in the past as a result of his pro-democracy work, including being violently assaulted by police and arbitrarily arrested in November 2014. The reasons behind the abduction remain unclear.
Front Line Defenders expresses its grave concern for the physical and psychological integrity and security of Itai Dzamara. Given his leading role in the Occupy Africa Unity Square movement, Front Line Defenders fears that the abduction may be linked to Itai Dzamara's peaceful and legitimate human rights activities.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Zimbabwe to:
Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the abduction of Itai Dzamara, with a view to bringing those responsible for justice in accordance with international standards;
Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of Itai Dzamara;
Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
