A Czech tourist in the Zimbabwean city of Masvingo filmed a video in which he described and captured the poor economic situation in Zimbabwe. Police officers who were responding to a traffic accident nearby overheard the man’s comments and arrested him for spreading falsehoods. News24 and Zimlive reported about it, according to which the person in question faces up to 20 years in prison. Czech diplomacy confirmed to ČTK today that it knows about the case and that it is dealing with it.
The judge rejected the request to release the detainee on bail because he said it was likely that he would flee the country due to the permeability of the borders, the Zimbabwean website Zimlive wrote. According to the judge, Čech committed a serious crime; at the same time, the court reclassified the accusation of spreading falsehoods as spreading falsehoods with the intention of inciting the public. Čech’s lawyer claims that his client was charged under a law that has been repealed. During the court hearing, according to the media, the power went out in the courthouse, causing laughter in the public gallery, and the lawyer said that power and water cuts are a reality in Masvingo.
“We can confirm that a Czech citizen was taken into custody in Zimbabwe. His case is being handled by the embassy in neighboring Zambia, which asked the Zimbabwean Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the details of the case in a note,” Mariana Wernerová, spokeswoman for the Černín Palace, told ČTK today. At the same time, she stated that the Czech diplomat will go to Zimbabwe next week to visit the person in question and to participate in the main trial. This is to be held on August 16. According to the South African website News24, the tourist started a hunger strike last weekend and demanded a meeting with representatives of the Czech Republic.
In July, Zimbabwean police jailed more than 80 citizens, including political activists. Another 44 student activists ended up in jail last month for allegedly holding illegal assemblies. The embassies of Western countries in Harare criticized such arrests. The Heads of Mission of European Union countries called on local authorities to respect fundamental freedoms in line with Zimbabwe’s constitution and international human rights obligations,” News24 wrote.
This year, Zimbabwe is the host country for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit, scheduled for August 17. South Africa’s ruling Democratic Alliance party last week suggested the summit be held elsewhere because of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
