US embassy cable - 02HARARE2455

UNCLAS HARARE 002455 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E. O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ZI 
SUBJECT: Govt Postpones Tsvangirai Treason Trial 
 
REF: Harare 2120 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Protect accordingly. 
 
1. (U) Summary: Zimbabwe's High Court has put off the 
trial of opposition Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) 
leader Morgan Tsvangirai on charges of treason until next 
February.  We believe the postponement indicates the GoZ 
has been unable to build a strong case against its main 
political foe. End Summary. 
 
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Eleventh Hour Accusations 
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2. (U) In a bizarre case of political intrigue, the GoZ 
brought charges of high treason, punishable by death, 
against Tsvangirai and two other party officials 
immediately before last March's controversial election. 
Former Israeli agent Ari Ben-Menashe implicated them in 
an alleged plot to assassinate President Mugabe.  Ben- 
Menashe had allegedly shot a video of himself discussing 
the plot with Tsvangirai. 
 
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Procedural Defects in a Structurally Weak Case 
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3. (U) According to local attorneys, the Zimbabwean legal 
system differs from the US system in that defendants are 
not automatically entitled to review evidence that will 
be used by the prosecution.  In this case, Tsvangirai's 
attorneys requested postponement because they had 
received neither a copy of the allegedly damning 
audiotape nor a transcript, both of which they had 
requested.  There is speculation that the State 
manipulated the audiotape, so Defense is seeking to have 
an expert examine the original before the trial begins. 
Additionally, Defense complained of delays in receiving 
an outline of State's case against the three defendants. 
Finally, Defense requested postponement because the 
original court date was set without consultation with 
defense attorneys, in violation of accepted practice. 
 
4. (U) While the decision whether or not to grant the 
postponement was a matter of the High Court's discretion, 
the prosecution failed to contest the application.  Local 
attorneys believe this failure to oppose, after earlier 
threats by the State to vigorously contest postponement, 
lends credence to the view that the GOZ has been unable 
to build a case. 
 
5. (SBU) Comment: Ben-Menashe is a shady figure who has 
done consulting for Mugabe's government.  If the video- 
tape exists, we suspect it shows evidence of manipulation 
or involves a sort of baiting and entrapment that any 
neutral court would throw out.  It seems Tsvangirai was 
on the mark when he predicted to us in September (ref) 
that Ben-Menashe's unwillingness to testify would weaken 
an already flimsy case.  While the Government has planned 
to try Tsvangirai and his colleagues at almost the same 
time as alleged wife-killer and MDC MP Jonwe (who 
subsequently died in custody), the GoZ must regard the 
trial's postponement as a "next-best" outcome, since it 
deprives the MDC's two most effective spokesmen 
(Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube) of their passports for 
four more months and keeps the threat of a capital 
indictment hanging over their heads. 
 
Sullivan