BBC's Petroc Trelawny free to leave Zimbabwe

Donnerstag, 31. Mai 2012

BBC's Petroc Trelawny free to leave Zimbabwe

Petroc Trelawny, the BBC music presenter arrested in Zimbabwe last week over a work permit row, was finally free to fly home to the UK on Thursday night after being cleared by a court of any wrongdoing.

The release of Petroc Trelawny, the BBC Radio 3 presenter arrested for working in Zimbabwe without a permit, has been delayed indefinitely after immigration officials refused to cancel an arrest warrant or give back his passport.

Petroc Trelawny was arrested for failing to obtain a Temporary Employment Permit

Mr Trelawny said he was "delighted" with the judgement of a magistrate sitting in Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo, who said he had broken no laws by working for free at a children's music festival.

He told The Daily Telegraph he would return to Britain with his "head held high" following a week-long ordeal that at one stage looked as though it could leave him facing a sentence in a Zimbabwean jail cell.

"I'm particularly pleased that I leave with my head held high and been assured by immigration that there will be absolutely no problem with my returning to Zimbabwe in the future to carry on with my work here," he said.

His release on Thursday night came exactly a week after he was escorted from the stage of the Bulawayo City Hall, where he was narrating a production of Song of the Carnivores involving 500 local schoolchildren.

He was arrested for failing to obtain a Temporary Employment Permit and held in a police cell where, over the weekend, he slipped on a patch of water and dislocated his shoulder. He spent the next five days – including his 41st birthday on Sunday - in hospital under police guard.

Early this week, Zimbabwe's Attorney General, then a High Court judge, ordered his release but Bulawayo's Immigration Department filed a new charge that he had lied on his tourist visa application, which saw him brought before the court on Thursday.

There, a magistrate decided that there was no law which prohibited tourists from taking part in public music events, and told him he was free to leave Zimbabwe at his leisure.

Mr Trelawny, from Primrose Hill in London, said his time in Zimbabwe's criminal justice system had been "an interesting experience" but would not deter him from returning to continue his work with underprivileged children.

"I'm just elated that it's over but above all it's been an experience in the humanity of people," he.

"I was touched by the way I was looked after in the hospital by doctors and nurses, how respectful police were, even the night I spent in prison - although it was not something I would ever care to repeat, it was certainly something I will not forget.

"It was an interesting experience and something we can all learn from. It hasn't in any way changed my opinion of the wonderful people of this country." He admitted that the legal wranglings that saw him book and rebook his flight out of Zimbabwe as officials argued over whether he had a case to answer or not had been "a bit bewildering and frustrating at times".

He praised the "wonderful defence" mounted by his lawyer, a member of the respected Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group which has in the past come to the defence of many tourists in trouble with the Zimbabwean authorities.

"I was terrified when I was first arrested, but then it all took place in daylight and in public, and the music academy staff were there, so it was not so terrifying," he said.

He was generous about the brutal conditions of Bulawayo Central Police Station, where previous occupants have described torture by members of Robert Mugabe's feared Central Intelligence Organisation and beatings by other inmates.

"I think I was a source of fascination for the 18 prisoners sharing my police cell. I don't know what they were in for, all sorts of things I think, but everyone is equal in a cell like that," he said.

"They made sure I had space to lie on the floor and when I managed to slip over, they were fantastic at getting me attention, making sure police knew I needed to get into hospital.

"When I arrived on Thursday, it was late and everyone had their positions on the floor staked out. It was quite cold and there were a limited number of blankets.

"There was a complicated herringbone sleeping pattern to get everyone in, but I got my space and managed to get some sleep, although I did a lot of thinking as well." He said that after the sparse conditions, he was eagerly anticipating some luxury before his departure from Bulawayo this morning.

"I'm now looking forward to a nice dinner and hopefully some good Zimbabwean beef and South African wine," he said.

"People who were good friends here before have now become very close friends and I'm looking forward to celebrating with them before heading back to London to continue celebrations.

"I'm meant to be going to Zambia a week on Friday. All being well, I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks on safari, perhaps a slightly more relaxing African experience." Asked what he would be playing on Radio Three when he returned, he said: "I will have to find something that speaks of adventure."

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Donnerstag, 31. Mai 2012