HARARE – State agents shaved Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) secretary general Robson Chere’s head with a knife and further dipped it in water during an excruciating episode of torture which followed his highly condemned arrest Wednesday at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport together with three other rights defenders.
Chere, a tough spirited union leader and rights activist, was ejected from a plane together with colleagues moments away from departure.
They were later charged with disorderly conduct, allegations that stemmed from an earlier incident in which they joined fellow activists at the Harare Magistrates’ Court in expressing solidarity with detained former CCC senator Jameson Timba and 77 party activists.
Chere would also be singled out for the abuse with ARTUZ saying his attackers were trying to force him to reveal the militant teachers group’s source of funding.
“The torture methods used against Cde Chere are truly abhorrent – shaving his head with a knife, waterboarding, and assaulting him with metal rods,” ARTUZ said in strong condemnation of its leader’s abuse.
Waterboarding is described elsewhere as the practice of strapping one’s head down on a sloping board with the mouth and nose covered while water is poured over their face, typically in order to coerce them to cooperate in an interrogation.
Said ARTUZ, “Despite the unequivocal ban on torture under Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Zimbabwean government has brazenly defied international law and subjected our comrade, Cde Robson Chere, the national secretary general of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, to horrific acts of torture and abuse.”
Added the teachers’ group, “This heinous act represents an unnoticed eradication that has been occurring for years, one that the world has been unwilling to acknowledge.
“The government of Zimbabwe has a moral and legal obligation to protect its citizens, yet it has shamefully allowed its own people to perish by denying them access to basic care.
“This is a grave crime against humanity, a genocide by neglect that cannot be tolerated.”
ARTUZ said, “we are not a terrorist group; we are an organisation of educators who are being terrorised by those who are supposed to serve the people.”
“The government of Zimbabwe cannot maintain its grip on power by silencing progressive voices. This will only serve to exacerbate the unrest and instability in the country.
“The government is clearly afraid of its own citizens and their opinions, and it is resorting to horrific acts of violence to suppress dissent.”
