*MORE RAIDS AND DETENTIONS FROM THE SWAZI POLICE STATE* *June 14th, 2010*
While the government of Swaziland has never sought permission from the public to conduct illegal raids and arbitrary detentions of known political activists, the recent spate of bombings has emboldened it to make these activities so frequent that they now seem part of police’s daily work routine. Fresh from detaining more than ten SWAYOCO members who were last week held for questioning, the police have arrested another SWAYOCO member, Zonke Dlamini of Ekwendzeni and charged him with the bombing of two houses, one belonging to the Swaziland PRO Vusi Masuku and the other one belonging to MP Bheki Mkhonta. The activist was arrested last week Friday and only appeared in court on Sunday whereupon he was informed that he could not apply for bail. He was then taken to the Sidvwashini correctional facility after two days of intense interrogation by the police. The president of PUDEMO, Mario Masuku, at 6 a.m. on Monday morning also had his house raided by the police who were characteristically disrespectful towards him in his own home. He was raided and harassed in front of his wife and son. The police took his PUDEMO documents and a cap inscribed with the movement’s insignia. These heavy handed tactics, as usual, are meant to disrupt the activities of the liberation movement and the Swaziland Solidarity Network condemns such behaviour. We also call upon the people of Swaziland and its international friends to stop turning a blind eye to these activities because they are unwarranted and violate human rights. *Issued by the Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN]* *Contact: * *Lucky Lukhele SSN spokesperson* *072 502 4141* -- NEW!!!! SSN FORUM IS ON FACEBOOK!!!! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Swaziland Solidarity Network Forum Google Group. Visit the group home page at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/sa-swaziland-solidarity-eom-forum for more options, pages and files. To post to the group, send email to [email protected] or reply to this message. To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected]
