Human rights activist imprisoned in Zimbabwe

"Hi all,

If you'd like to follow what is going on with my friend Farai's incarceration in Zimbabwe, here is Rishita's blog with all the information. http://iwanttohelpwhatcanido.wordpress.com/

The first-written post includes instructions for notifying politicians. There are attempts through a human rights lawyer to get Amnesty on the case.

Farai Maguwu is the director of the Center for Research and Development (CRD) in Zim. His org started out by teaching rural teens English, then they conducted truth and reconciliation meetups after the land transfers, and his latest incarnation researches and reports on human rights abuses in Zim. He is an outspoken dissenter of Robert Mugabe and has been arrested and tortured before. He also has gone into exile numerous times but keeps returning to Zim as he mentors/fosters a teenage boy and he is dedicated to justice. I met Farai in 2006 and spent a year with him at our Master's program. He is the most decent man I've ever met. His only flaw is his stubborn commitment to justice which lands him in trouble!

Besides having a cold (or suspected cold at least, as he has been denied medical attention), Farai is physically ok and does have a lawyer representing him, as well as the support of the CRD board.

This has all kicked off because of a report the CRD put out claiming that illegal panners were being killed by the Zim army and diamonds were being illegally smuggled for sale into the UAE, violating the protocol of the Kimberley Process.

I urge you to re-tweet/facebook/etc to get this out there. It is being quickly and widely publicised and has gained support from Global Witness, Partnership Africa Canada, and more NGOs. The more they know they're being watched, the more likely it will be that justice will return to Zim.

Thank you kindly,

--
Colleen Hemsing "

Let me know if you need more details...

Thank you so much!

xEmy