4.2.2 Selective application of the law Irregular interpretation and enforcement of the law by law enforcement agencies. Policy The court system and the separation of powers enshrined in the constitution provide for curbs and remedies to the selective application of law. Professional ethical codes of conduct, law and judicial procedures provide redress mechanisms to prevent selective application of the law. Among the policies applying was article 13.1 of the GPA, in which the principals stated that ‘state organs and institutions do not belong to any political party and should be impartial in the discharge of their duties’, and agreed in article 13.2(b) to ensure ‘that all state organs and institutions strictly observe the principles of the Rule of Law and remain non-partisan and impartial’. Nature of violations Regardless of the GPA provisions, known ZANU(PF) suspects involved in criminal acts which were politically motivated were not charged or arraigned before the courts, while non-ZANU(PF) MPs and perceived government critics (including journalists, human rights defenders and students) were arrested on flimsy charges and prosecuted. Victim complaints were not filed by the police, fabricated charges were brought against innocent persons, and suspects with cases to answer were not charged or brought before the courts. Case histories • On 14 October, MDC-T official and Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate Roy Bennett was rearrested on charges of sabotage, banditry, terrorism and inciting terrorism brought against him in 2006. These charges were considered by many stakeholders to be fabricated. Charges were not dropped, seemingly through the manipulation of the justice system by the state. • On 13 July, a well-organized group of ZANU(PF) supporters and war veterans severely assaulted scores of MDC supporters and disrupted a National Constitutional Conference in the capital, Harare. No arrests were made despite heavy police presence at the venue. • On 1 August, three soldiers assaulted Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s gardener at the minister’s home in Harare. The victim, Howard Makonza, was rushed to hospital. While Makonza was reporting the assault at a police station, one of the soldiers who had assaulted him threatened him in the presence of the police. 4.2.3 Unfair trial and limited access to justice Trials not compliant with laid-down court and justice principles and procedures, denying justice to suspects or assisting them to evade justice. Policy The Zimbabwe government ratified the ICCPR in 1991, article 14 of which provides that ‘everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law’. Policy non-compliance exhibited through what has commonly been seen as ‘the absence of the rule of law’, or disregard for the law by the state, resulted in article 11 of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Report – 2009 15