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A continuation of ROHR Zimbabwe demonstration held at the courts on 25 February 2009 to put pressure on the inclusive government to release journalists, human rights and political detainees who were victims of enforced disappearances in October - December 2008.

ROHR Zimbabwe stands for restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe, a human rights pressure group whose vision is to see a 'peaceful, just and free Zimbabwe that is conscious of and respects human' ROHR was founded in March 2007 and registered under the Zimbabwean law as a trust in August 2007. ROHR is known for its action oriented approach to redressing human rights abuses in Zimbabwe through workshops, capacity buliding workshops and active engagement of the citizenry in human rights and governance issues.

Maximum Prison and other places of detention. The demonstration was also aimed at reminding the new political establishment that the release of the prisoners of conscience should be priority.
ROHR has not been able to get confirmation of the number of arrests that resulted from the action. We needed lawyers accompany ROHR members to the Central Police Station to get the actual details but coordination with lawyers was unsuccessful by end of day today.
Close to fifty of our members gathered at the Rotten Row Courts in Harare where they heeded the call for protests, where the symbolic act itself is a clear statement to the Inclusive government that the detainees should be released unconditionally. Although the act was short, the message is clear and the morality of our call for true justice to prevail over any form of political agenda is legitimate. It is morally incorrect, that the inclusive Government should continue as if it is business as usual when obviously the skeletons of the previous regime have not yet been buried.
ROHR Zimbabwe Harare field officer addressed the public. He pointed out that the action should be a clear message for the new Cabinet that convened for the first time on Monday 17 February that the suffering of the detainees is central to the people’s heart and should be one of the priorities that need urgent attention if the positive hype of the inclusive Government is to be sustained.
As ROHR Zimbabwe we reiterate that all human rights and political detainees must be released immediately. We condemn the arrest of Roy Bennett and the 10 WOZA activists who are being denied lawyer access. This kind of orchestration on civilians transmits wrong signals to the world about Zimbabwe’s that cast doubt upon Zimbabwe’s capacity and readiness to practically handle the current human rights and economic challenges of today.