Danby offers to assist defence of Zimbabwe opposition leader
Federal Labor MP Michael Danby has offered to testify at the treason trial of the Zimbabwe opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mr Danby, MP for Melbourne Ports, says the trial is a travesty of justice, with the prosecution case based solely on the testimony of a man he calls “a proved liar and fraud.”
“The Zimbabwe regime of President Robert Mugabe has put the Leader of the Opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, on trial for treason,” Mr Danby said. “They allege that Tsvangirai was plotting to assassinate Mugabe.”
The regime’s only evidence for this charge is the testimony of Ari Ben-Menashe, who claims to be a former agent of the Israeli secret service.
“I have been following Ben-Menashe’s career for many years,” Mr Danby said. “He has been shown a number of times to be a liar and a fraud. Ben-Menashe is a man who tries to extort money from governments and the media by inventing absurd conspiracy theories.”
Mr Danby said he had offered his longstanding knowledge of the career of the Ben-Menashe’s activities to Mr Tsvangirai’s defence lawyer, George Bizos. Mr Bizos is the lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela at his treason trial in 1963.
“If need be,” said Mr Danby, “I would be happy to demonstrate to the Zimbabwe court that no trust can be placed in anything Ben-Menashe says.”
Mr Danby quoted the report of a US Congressional committee, which found in 1993 that Ben-Menashe was “totally lacking in credibility.” The report found that Ben-Menashe had lied about his own career.
Mr Danby was highly critical of SBS, which broadcast a videotape of Mr Tsvangirai in a meeting with Ben-Menashe in Montreal in 2001. Mr Danby told parliament of SBS “Morgan Tsvangirai’s future, indeed his life, is at serious risk as a result of Ben-Menashe’s claims in the SBS program.” (Hansard 12/03/02)
He continued, “Mr Ben-Menashe should not be taken seriously even before this fircas on Zimbabwe.”
“It is shameful that SBS lent itself to this campaign by a notorious dictator to smear the opposition presidential candidate”, Danby added. Mr Tsvangirai is now suing SBS for defamation.
“The result of this ill-advised broadcast by SBS has been to throw suspicion on Mr Tsvangiari, when the spotlight of international condemnation should be on the dictator Mugabe and his hired agent, Ari Ben-Menashe,” Mr Danby said.
“I am willing to do anything I can to assist in Mr Tsvangirai’s defence to helping to expose Ben-Menashe’s career of deceit and fraud.”
For more information, contact Daniel Casey on 9534 8126 or 0402 484 210.
