A report for the International Bar Association which described Zimbabwe's democracy as being "in the gravest peril" has been rejected by the Zimbabwean authorities as "uncorroborated". The document was compiled by Mr George Bizos, the chief counsel to the former South African president, Mr Nelson Mandela; the former chief justice of India, Mr A.M. Ahmadi; and US District Judge Andre Davis.
The report said that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe had been deeply implicated in the intimidation of judges and lawyers in order to further his own political ends. "The circumstances which have been disclosed show, in our view, conduct committed, or encouraged by government ministers, which puts the very fabric of democracy at risk", the report said.
"Some of the people who are supposed to protect the judiciary and stamp out intimidation are the very ones who are fanning the flames of a culture of threat and intimidation of the judiciary", it added, singling out Zimbabwe's Minister for Justice, Mr Patrick Chinamasa, for special criticism.
"We regard any attempt by a government minister, but especially the justice minister, to obtain the resignation of a judge whose decisions against the government were found unpalatable as a serious breach of the independence of the judiciary," the report said.
The IBA report also called on Mr Mugabe to make a "clear and unambiguous statement", declaring occupations of white-owned farms as illegal.
Zimbabwe's Minister of State for Information and Publicity, Mr Jonathan Moyo, said in a statement it was disappointing that the report merely repeated "uncorroborated assertions and impressions that the IBA team reached during its so-called investigation, prior to its departure from Zimbabwe".
Mr Moyo reserved his most scathing comments for Mr Bizos, accusing him of insulting Zimbabwe by making the "preposterous claim that land reforms in Zimbabwe are comparable to the unlawful and immoral seizure of African land by an apartheid minority in South Africa".
It was "self-evident to any fair-minded person that the judiciary system in Zimbabwe is functioning well without any interference whatsoever, save perhaps from teams such as the IBA, whose report seeks to inflame an otherwise settled situation."
In the course of its visit to Zimbabwe the IBA team met Mr Mugabe and consulted a number of human rights groups and individuals, including Mr Anthony Gubbay, who was forced, under government pressure, to resign his position as chief justice of Zimbabwe.
Mr Mugabe's government has announced that it is to take over the 6,000-acre farm of Ms Gloria Olds, who was shot dead early last month and was found lying near a gateway to her home with 15 bullets in her body. Her farm, "Silverstream", near Bulawayo, was one of 138 listed in the Government Gazette for compulsory seizure by the state.
Ms Olds's son, Mr Martin Olds, was killed by War of Independence veterans a year ago.