Some Zimbabwean exiles repeatedly expressed a fear to us that they are not secure in South Africa. Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agents have been reported from multiple sources as being active in the Johannesburg and Pretoria region in particular.114 Exiles are concerned that their families are insecure in Zimbabwe and are at risk of being tortured if those in exile make claims against the Zimbabwean government or expose their own ill treatment. During 2002, there was an incident involving the CIO that was well publicised in the media. Three Zimbabwean women were allegedly abducted in Johannesburg by CIO operatives. They were bound and gagged in the back of a car, and were allegedly sexually abused. A border patrol near the South African border searched the car and discovered the women. They insisted the women were released, but allowed their kidnappers to proceed to Zimbabwe without arrest!115 The UNHCR says that protection is an issue for the South African Police. The Police have made it clear that they would not welcome the CIO being active in their nation, but say they do not have the resources to give local protection to Zimbabweans who feel at risk. At most, they have offered for Zimbabweans to come and sleep at police stations if they are afraid of abduction. But as most Zimbabweans spend most of their time avoiding the police because they do not have asylum seeker permits, this is not an attractive option. Both the Wits Law Clinic and Lawyers for Human Rights state that they have been approached by Zimbabweans afraid of the CIO, asking for resettlement out of South Africa. However, according to human rights lawyers, it has proved close to impossible to get Zimbabweans resettled overseas – the international world is quick to make political statements on Zimbabwe and slow to accommodate their refugees. What makes it harder for Zimbabweans is the very small number that has formal refugee status at this stage. The UNHCR expects those requesting to be resettled to have already been determined to be genuine refugees by South African Home Affairs. Zimbabweans also have a problem with police clearance; particularly in the post September 11th world, people are concerned about world terrorism and it is hard to resettle any refugees from anywhere. Many Zimbabweans from MDC structures have multiple arrests for spurious crimes on their police records, as arrests on false charges have been a deliberate government strategy over the last five years.116 This has impacted negatively on their likelihood of being resettled. Over the last few years, The Wits law office has forwarded to the Johannesburg UNHCR office, ten requests for resettlement of Zimbabweans outside of southern Africa that they judged to be strong cases. By October 2003, two of these Zimbabweans have been accepted for resettlement processing. The Lawyers for Human Rights office reported no success in the applications they had forwarded to the UNHCR for resettlement. A lawyer there commented, in October 2003: Every one of them has been rejected for resettlement… I have seen the reasons, but I cannot understand why they have been rejected by the UNHCR. 114 We have several detailed Zimbabwean asylum seeker statements on record outlining incidents allegedly involving the CIO in Johannesburg, and human rights lawyers are well aware of these claims too; interviews, October 2003. The media has also reported some incidents. 115 Information from Wits Law Clinic, October 2003. 116 Solidarity Peace Trust, July 2004, op cit, for more on spurious arrests of Zimbabweans. 50