Leading international lawyers are asking a United
Nations working group to rule whether the jailing of a Swaziland magazine
editor and human rights lawyer for publishing articles critical of the kingdom’s
judiciary are lawful.
They have filed a petition with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
(UNWGAD) in Geneva regarding the cases of Bheki Makhubu, the editor of the Nation magazine and Thulani Maseko, a
lawyer and writer.
The American Bar
Association’s Center for Human Rights, the global law firm Hogan Lovells and
the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) jointly produced
a petition calling for the UNWGAD to issue an opinion regarding the lawfulness
of the continued incarceration of the two men.
They allege a range of human rights violations by Swaziland, where King Mswati III
rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch..
Wilder
Tayler, ICJ’s Secretary General, said, ‘The consequences of this arbitrary
action against Thulani Maseko have not only violated his rights and exacted a
heavy personal toll, but have also highlighted the rule of law deficit in
Swaziland. Thulani Maseko has been denied his right to express an opinion on
public affairs and the administration of justice, guaranteed under
international law and affirmed in the UN Basic principles on the Role of
lawyers.’
Thulani Maseko and
journalist Bheki Makhubu were charged with two counts of contempt of court
emanating from articles published in the Nation
in February and March 2014, in which they questioned circumstances surrounding
the arrest of a government vehicle inspector.
They were sentenced to
two years of imprisonment, without the alternative option of a fine at the end
of a trial largely condemned by leading international rights groups as unfair
and not complying with international standards on the right to a fair trial.
In a statement the ICJ
said, ‘Some of the fair trial guarantees that have been breached, according to
the legal petition filed with the UNGWAD, include the right to be tried by an
independent and impartial tribunal; right to a public hearing; right to a legal
counsel; right to the presumption of innocence; right to bail; and right to
protection of the law.’
Marc Gottridge, partner
at Hogan Lovells, said,‘The use of contempt of court proceedings to suppress
the right to freedom of expression is a violation of international human rights
law. The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Swazi constitution
and international law, including treaties to which Swaziland is a party.
‘The general failings of
the Swazi judiciary with respect to independence and impartiality makes it
reasonable to conclude that there cannot be an effective domestic remedy for
Thulani Maseko.’
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
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