London: campaigners demand amnesty for starving Zimbabwean prisoners

emaciated prisoners secretly filmed last week

Zimbabwean exiles will be joined by church groups in a vigil outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London on Saturday 18 April, to demand an amnesty for prisoners in Zimbabwe. The occasion is Zimbabwe's Independence Day.

The Zanu-MDC government has done nothing despite the worldwide revulsion to address the horrendous prison conditions shown in a recent South African television report. Starvation, disease, filthy overcrowding ­ to add to the routine brutality and torture: prison in Zimbabwe can be a death sentence.

The demonstration is organised by the Zimbabwe Vigil which has been protesting outside the Embassy every Saturday for nearly seven years in support of fair elections.

Vigil Co-ordinator Rose Benton said: "The Vigil believes that the Zimbabwean government must only imprison the number of people it can cope with humanely according to generally agreed standards. Others can be given non-custodial penalties. After all, most of those released from prison will be saints compared to Zanu-PF's murderous thugs still causing havoc in Zimbabwe".

The Vigil will include singing, drumming, dancing and a collection to help pay for food for those starving in prison.

For more Information, contact: Fungayi Mabhunu 07743 662 046, Ephraim Tapa 07877 153 659, 07940 793 090 and Dumi Tutani 07960 039 775.

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe.

.For more information, see: www.zimvigil.co.uk