MASEKO CALLS ON U.S. TO SANCTION KING

Thulani Maseko, the human rights lawyer and journalist jailed for two years in Swaziland because he wrote a magazine article critical of the Swazi judiciary, has written from his jail cell at Sidvwashini Prison to US President Barack Obama, asking for the United States to impose sanctions against King Mswati III.

In the letter that was written while Maseko was awaiting trial, the lawyer quoted Obama himself who once said, ‘I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights.’

Maseko wrote to President Obama, ‘We are happy that the American government, under your administration, has noted that these things are not available to the vast majority of the people of Swaziland. They are not available because we are living under a dictatorship of a supreme monarchy that abuses the people’s customary and traditional practices to stay in power. Yet we know that tradition and customary practices should not impede on basic human rights and fundamental freedoms and civil liberties. As far as we in the democratic progressive movement understand, human rights are God-given; they are inalienable, inherent, indivisible and inviolable.

‘In the Kingdom of Swaziland, we live under an oppressive regime where it is said “rights and freedoms which we accept must not conflict with our traditions as the Swazi nation.” Such a notion is obviously inconsistent with the rule of law, democracy and good governance.’

He added, ‘Mr. President, in the context of Swaziland, dissenting and opposing voices are silenced, harassed and thrown into jail. The system of government is based on one man [King Mswati III] with all political authority, which is sanctioned by the constitution; this is the supreme law of the land. Section 79 of the 2005 Constitution prohibits the lawful existence and recognition of political parties, which effectively undermines democracy and democratic governance.’

He added, ‘President Obama, I believe that it is now generally accepted that no country can be a democracy when political parties are banned, and where basic human rights and fundamental freedoms are unreasonably restricted and contained. Such is the case in Swaziland.’

Maseko called on President Obama and the American people and partners around the globe to put pressure on King Mswati (who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch) to help put pressure on the King to agree on constitutional talks.

He also asked President Obama to influence countries of the European Union and the United Nations ‘to take a firm stand on Swaziland’.

Maseko wrote, ‘Our country exports huge amounts of sugar and beef to the countries of Europe; a threat to such a market will send shivers to the king, forcing him to reconsider his hardline positions.

‘What is more, our King is very fond of traveling the world. We reckon it is about time for targeted sanctions against him and a select few members of his inner circle to be considered.’

He added, ‘I am afraid that if democratic and progressive governments do not take a timely stand against the Swaziland monarchy, then we have the danger of a violent confrontation, due to the intransigence of His Majesty King Mswati III and his courts.’

Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, which circulated the letter on the Internet said it was ‘a testament to not only his unwavering courage in the face of unconscionable repression, but to the spirit of all of Swaziland’s people who yearn for democracy and the rule of law.’

Santiago A. Canton, Executive Director of RFK Partners for Human Rights, said, ‘Freedom of expression is a basic human right that must be protected. By violating Thulani’s rights as a citizen, authorities in Swaziland have infringed on the rights of everyone, setting a horrible precedent in an already dire situation.’

See also

JOURNALISTS JAILED TO DETER OTHERS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/journalists-jailed-to-deter-others.html

US BACKS CONVICTED SWAZI JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/us-backs-convicted-swazi-journalists.html

JUDGE RESTRICTS PRESS FREEDOM

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/judge-restricts-press-freedom.html

SUPPORT FOR CONVICTED JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/global-support-for-convicted-journalists.html

WHAT CONVICTED JOURNALISTS WROTE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/convicted-journalists-what-they-wrote.html

COURT SILENCES SWAZI JOURNALISTS

A threat by a Swaziland High Court judge to jail journalists that criticise decisions made by the law courts has hit home.

Chair of the Swaziland Editors’ Forum Mbongeni Mbingo declined to comment on the statement by Judge Mpendulo Simelane for fear of committing a contempt of court.

Mbingo had been asked by local media to comment on the jailing for two years of Bheki Makhubu, editor of the Nation magazine, and Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer and writer. The pair had written articles critical of Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi and the Swaziland judiciary.

Passing sentence Judge Simelane said that publishing articles in the Nation critical of the judiciary was ‘a defiance campaign against the Courts and the administration of justice. The Courts have an obligation to discourage such conduct in the interest of the stability of our country.’

He added, ‘No one, I repeat, has a right to write scurrilous articles in the manner the Accused persons did.  Such conduct destroys public confidence in the Courts, without which this country cannot function effectively.  The Courts hence have to use the very ammunition of Contempt of Court in self-protection from journalists like the Accused persons.’

He added, ‘Swaziland is a sovereign state.  Her laws and constitutional structures must be respected.  It is the fundamental responsibility of the Courts in this country to ensure that this is achieved through appropriately stiff sentences as a deterrent.’

Mbingo, who is chief editor of the Swazi Observer newspaper group, which is in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, was reported by a rival newspaper, the Swazi News, saying, ‘he couldn’t comment on the judgment because doing so would probably constitute contempt of court but insisted that he was at pains, following yesterday’s events’.

The Swazi News quoted Mbingo saying the two-year sentences were ‘alarming’.

Mbingo said, ‘Bheki Makhubu is a member of the Editors’ Forum, he is a senior editor and he is highly regarded in the profession. Therefore, today has been a very sad day for all of us in the profession.

‘The sentence is alarming to us in the industry. I have been following the case as a journalist, as editor and a colleague to Bheki, but I never saw this coming. I didn’t think the sentence could be this drastic.’

He added, ‘I think we will obviously have to look at it and study it as media personnel to understand where the judge is coming from and to understand where the infringement was in order to ensure that we don’t find ourselves in the same situation.  

‘More than anything it’s important for us to understand what we stand for as a profession; it’s important to understand our role in society. We need to perform our role in society as respectfully as we can and also as unafraid as possible.’

Meanwhile, the Lawyers for Human Rights in Swaziland (LHRS) expressed ‘shock and disbelief’ at the jailing of the two journalists.

Secretary of the LHRS Sipho Gumedze said, ‘The tone that was used by the court was very unfortunate. Somewhere within the judgment, the court said it wanted to send a clear message to all journalists in Swaziland. As an association, we have serious misgivings about that.

‘The use of that tone was unwarranted.

‘The court was supposed to confine itself to the matter at hand and not to be political and personal because the court’s fundamental duty is to serve justice.’

Chairman of the LHRSMaxwell Nkambule said Judge Simelane’s sentence had dashed hopes on the independence of the judiciary and the role of courts to uphold the Constitution.

‘True we saw it coming but to think the court would unashamedly disrespect the basics on the protection of rights. Such is disgusting to say the least. The court is essentially saying there is no freedom of expression and free press,’ he said.

Vincent Ncongwane, Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), said, ‘The arrest, conviction and sentence of Maseko and Makhubu is very unfortunate and has no space in the modern democratic society.

‘The federation was seriously shocked at the tone the court used when delivering the judgment, it was scaring to say the least.’

Outside of Swaziland, condemnation of the jail sentences was swift from international organisations including the US State Department, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists,  the South Africa National Editors Forum, and  Freedom House

See also

JOURNALISTS JAILED TO DETER OTHERS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/journalists-jailed-to-deter-others.html

US BACKS CONVICTED SWAZI JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/us-backs-convicted-swazi-journalists.html

JUDGE RESTRICTS PRESS FREEDOM

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/judge-restricts-press-freedom.html

SUPPORT FOR CONVICTED JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/global-support-for-convicted-journalists.html

WHAT CONVICTED JOURNALISTS WROTE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/convicted-journalists-what-they-wrote.html

COURT CONVICTS EDITOR AND WRITER

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/court-convicts-editor-and-writer.html

EDITOR AND LAWYER ‘FACE 10 YEARS JAIL’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/editor-and-lawyer-face-10-years-jail.html

JOURNALISTS JAILED ‘TO DETER OTHERS’

Swaziland High Court Judge Mpendulo Simelane sentenced an editor and a writer to two years in jail to deter other journalists from criticizing the state.

He made this clear in remarks from the court on Friday (25 July 2014) when he sentenced Bheki Makhubu, editor of the Nation magazine, and Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer and writer, to two years in prison without an option of a fine.

The pair had written articles critical of Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi and the Swaziland judiciary.

Swaziland is not a democracy and is ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

Judge Simelane said, ‘I find that the interests of society far outweigh the personal circumstances of the Accused.’

He added that publishing articles in the Nation critical of the judiciary was ‘a defiance campaign against the Courts and the administration of justice. The Courts have an obligation to discourage such conduct in the interest of the stability of our country.’

In a clear warning to all journalists and other critics in Swaziland, Judge Simelane said, ‘No one, I repeat, has a right to write scurrilous articles in the manner the Accused persons did.  Such conduct destroys public confidence in the Courts, without which this country cannot function effectively.  The Courts hence have to use the very ammunition of Contempt of Court in self-protection from journalists like the Accused persons.’

He added, ‘Swaziland is a sovereign state.  Her laws and constitutional structures must be respected.  It is the fundamental responsibility of the Courts in this country to ensure that this is achieved through appropriately stiff sentences as a deterrent.’

The prison sentence has been criticized across the world. The US State Department said the harsh sentence appeared to be in conflict with Swaziland’s human rights obligations.

Amnesty International called it ‘a deplorable attack on freedom of expression in the country’.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Makhubu’s ‘only crime was to express a point of view and to publish criticism of alleged abuse of resources by certain members of the Swazi judiciary’.

The South Africa National Editors Forum (Sanef) said, ‘This is a massive blow to freedom of expression in Swaziland and will have a chilling impact on the work of journalists in that country.’

See also

US BACKS CONVICTED SWAZI JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/us-backs-convicted-swazi-journalists.html

JUDGE RESTRICTS PRESS FREEDOM

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/judge-restricts-press-freedom.html

SUPPORT FOR CONVICTED JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/global-support-for-convicted-journalists.html

WHAT CONVICTED JOURNALISTS WROTE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/convicted-journalists-what-they-wrote.html

COURT CONVICTS EDITOR AND WRITER

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/court-convicts-editor-and-writer.html

EDITOR AND LAWYER ‘FACE 10 YEARS JAIL’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/editor-and-lawyer-face-10-years-jail.html

JOURNALISTS CRITICAL OF REGIME JAILED

Magazine editor Bheki Makhubu and Human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko were sentenced to two years in jail on Friday (25 January 2014) after they wrote articles for the Nation magazine critical of the Swazi judiciary.

They were not given an option of a fine.

The sentence was immediately condemned by Freedom House, the global human rights organisation as ‘shameful’ and a ‘brazen contempt for the free press’.

There had been protests across the world after the pair were convicted by the Swazi High Court of contempt of court a week earlier.

When they appeared for sentencing High Court Judge Mpendulo Simelenae said the sentence should serve as a deterrent for others.

Judge Simelane singled out Maseko because during the trial he had read out a statement in his defence that criticised the lack of democracy in Swaziland.

Judge Simelane said this amounted to a call for regime change in Swaziland. Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III, who is sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

See also

US BACKS CONVICTED SWAZI JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/us-backs-convicted-swazi-journalists.html

JUDGE RESTRICTS PRESS FREEDOM

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/judge-restricts-press-freedom.html

 

SUPPORT FOR CONVICTED JOURNALISTS

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/global-support-for-convicted-journalists.html

 

WHAT CONVICTED JOURNALISTS WROTE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/convicted-journalists-what-they-wrote.html

 

COURT CONVICTS EDITOR AND WRITER

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/court-convicts-editor-and-writer.html

 

EDITOR AND LAWYER ‘FACE 10 YEARS JAIL’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2014/07/editor-and-lawyer-face-10-years-jail.html