Beatrice Mtetwa
Encyclopedia
Beatrice Mtetwa is a Zimbabwe
an lawyer who has been internationally recognized for her defense of journalists and press freedom. The New York Times
described her in 2008 as "Zimbabwe's top human rights lawyer".
. In 1983, she moved to Zimbabwe, where she continued working as a prosecutor until 1989. That year, she went into private practice, and soon began specializing in human rights law. In one of her more notable cases, she successfully challenged a section of Zimbabwe's Private Voluntary Organizations Act which allowed a government minister the authority to dissolve or replace the board members of non-governmental organization
s. She also challenged the results of 37 districts in the 2000 parliamentary elections. In a PBS
documentary, Mtetwa described her motives for her activism as "not because there is any glory or cash to it and not because I'm trying to antagonize the government... I'm doing it because it's a job that's got to be done".
Mtetwa is particularly noted for her defense of arrested journalists, both local and international. In 2003, for example, she won a court order preventing the deportation of Guardian
reporter Andrew Meldrum
, presenting it to security officials at Harare International Airport
only minutes before Meldrum's plane was scheduled to depart. She also won acquittals for detained reporters Toby Harnden
and Julian Simmonds from London's Sunday Telegraph
, who had been arrested during coverage of the April parliamentary election on charges of working without government accreditation. In April 2008, she secured the release of New York Times reporter Barry Bearak
, who had been imprisoned on similar charges. She also defended many local journalists arrested in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election
.
In an interview with the Committee to Protect Journalists
, Mtetwa described her procedure for averting potential attacks:
of the Committee to Protect Journalists. The award citation stated that "in a country where the law is used as a weapon against independent journalists, Mtetwa has defended journalists and argued for press freedom, all at great personal risk." She also won the group's Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008.
Mtetwa was also received several awards from legal organizations. In 2009, the European Bar Human Rights Institute
awarded her the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize
("The award given by lawyers to a lawyer"), reserved each year to a lawyer who thoroughout his or her career has illustrated, by activity or suffering, the defence of human rights in the world. Mtetwa also won the 2010 International Human Rights award of the American Bar Association
.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an lawyer who has been internationally recognized for her defense of journalists and press freedom. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described her in 2008 as "Zimbabwe's top human rights lawyer".
Legal practice
Mtetwa received her LLB from the University of Botswana and Swaziland in 1981 and spent the next two years working as a prosecuting attorney in SwazilandSwaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
. In 1983, she moved to Zimbabwe, where she continued working as a prosecutor until 1989. That year, she went into private practice, and soon began specializing in human rights law. In one of her more notable cases, she successfully challenged a section of Zimbabwe's Private Voluntary Organizations Act which allowed a government minister the authority to dissolve or replace the board members of non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s. She also challenged the results of 37 districts in the 2000 parliamentary elections. In a PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary, Mtetwa described her motives for her activism as "not because there is any glory or cash to it and not because I'm trying to antagonize the government... I'm doing it because it's a job that's got to be done".
Mtetwa is particularly noted for her defense of arrested journalists, both local and international. In 2003, for example, she won a court order preventing the deportation of Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reporter Andrew Meldrum
Andrew Meldrum
Andrew Meldrum is an American journalist who has concentrated on Africa and human rights. He worked in Zimbabwe for 23 years. Currently Meldrum is deputy managing editor and senior editor for Africa at GlobalPost...
, presenting it to security officials at Harare International Airport
Harare International Airport
Harare International Airport is an airport in Harare, Zimbabwe. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe and is the hub of Air Zimbabwe. The airport's runway, at , is one of the longest in Africa. It compares with OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South...
only minutes before Meldrum's plane was scheduled to depart. She also won acquittals for detained reporters Toby Harnden
Toby Harnden
Toby Harnden is an Anglo-American journalist and author. He has been US editor of The Daily Telegraph since 2006.-Background:...
and Julian Simmonds from London's Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
, who had been arrested during coverage of the April parliamentary election on charges of working without government accreditation. In April 2008, she secured the release of New York Times reporter Barry Bearak
Barry Bearak
Barry Leon Bearak is a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist and professor of journalism who has worked as a reporter and correspondent for The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times. He also taught journalism as a visiting professor at the Columbia University Graduate...
, who had been imprisoned on similar charges. She also defended many local journalists arrested in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election
Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008
The Republic of Zimbabwe held a presidential election along with a parliamentary election on 29 March 2008. The three major candidates were incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front , Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change , and...
.
Assaults and threats
In 2003, Mtetwa was arrested on allegations of drunk driving. At the police station, she was reportedly beaten and choked before being released three hours later without a formal charge. Though unable to speak for two days after the attack, she returned on the third day with a folder of medical evidence in order to file charges against the police officers who assaulted her. Police officers reportedly attacked Mtetwa again in 2007, beating her and three colleagues with rubber truncheons during a march protesting harassment of Zimbabwe's lawyers.In an interview with the Committee to Protect Journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...
, Mtetwa described her procedure for averting potential attacks:
"I think I confront the danger immediately before it happens. I always make sure that if, for instance, I'm called in the middle of the night to a scene that is potentially dangerous, I make sure that there are as many media practitioners as possible, particularly to record what will happen there. And in the glare of cameras I find that people don't want to do what they would want to do. So in a lot of ways I think I've been lucky, and I haven't received as much harassment as one would have expected, or as much as other human rights defenders have had."
International recognition
In 2005, she won the International Press Freedom AwardCPJ International Press Freedom Awards
The CPJ International Press Freedom Awards honour journalists around the world who show courage in defending press freedom in the face of attacks, threats or imprisonment. Created in 1991, the awards are administered by the Committee to Protect Journalists....
of the Committee to Protect Journalists. The award citation stated that "in a country where the law is used as a weapon against independent journalists, Mtetwa has defended journalists and argued for press freedom, all at great personal risk." She also won the group's Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008.
Mtetwa was also received several awards from legal organizations. In 2009, the European Bar Human Rights Institute
European Bar Human Rights Institute
The European Bar Human Rights Institute is a non governmental organization European NGO founded in December 2001, in Luxembourg.-History:Created in 2001, the European Bar Human Rights Institute has as its objective:...
awarded her the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize
Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize
The Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize, or Ludovic-Trarieux Award, is an international human rights award given annually to a lawyer for contributions to the defence of human rights.-History:...
("The award given by lawyers to a lawyer"), reserved each year to a lawyer who thoroughout his or her career has illustrated, by activity or suffering, the defence of human rights in the world. Mtetwa also won the 2010 International Human Rights award of the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
.