The arrest and detention, trial, conviction and
sentencing of two
journalists in Swaziland ‘involved
multiple violations of the Constitution of
the Kingdom of Swaziland,
the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the
Principles and Guidelines
on the Right to a Fair Trial in Africa and the
International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights,’ a report from the
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has concluded.
Thulani Maseko and Bheki Makhubu, ‘were subjected to unlawful and arbitrary arrest and
detention, including violation of their right to legal counsel and their right to a
public hearing,’ the hard-hitting 112-page report concluded.
Maseko and Makhubu gained international attention
when in 2014 they were sentenced to two years
in jail after writing and publishing
articles in the Nation
magazine that were critical of the Swazi judiciary.
They were released by the Swazi Supreme
Court on 30 June 2015 after they had served 15 months of their
sentences.
The ICJ reported, ‘All aspects of the
trial, including pre-trial
proceedings before the Chief Justice and the trial judge,
involved violation of the
right of all defendants to a hearing by an impartial
tribunal. The defendants
were improperly convicted, in violation of the right to
freedom of expression.
‘Even
had the convictions been proper, they were
sentenced to
disproportionately severe sentences, particularly in the case of the
sentences of two years’
imprisonment of Mr Maseko and Mr Makhubu.’
The ICJ added that although the Supreme Court set
aside the conviction it remained the case that Makhubu and Maseko, ‘were arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, including
because from the legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression’.
See also
FREE
POLITICAL PRISONERS: EURO MPs
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