Zimbabwe authorities deport German national

Mar 26, 2011, 16:11 GMT

Harare - Zimbabwean authorities reportedly deported a German national on Saturday without disclosing the reason, a move the German ambassador said was 'unacceptable in international law.'

'I have protested to Zimbabwe's ministry of foreign affairs. I was denied access to her,' said Albrecht Conze, Germany's ambassador to Zimbabwe.

'Whether she had violated Zimbabwean laws or not I do not know, but the manner in which the issue was handled is what is a concern to me,' Conze said.

Yvonne Paperndorf works in Germany for Bread for the World, a non- governmental organization. She was in Harare for a meeting organized by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

The ambassador said Paperndorf was taken away by officials from the immigration and intelligence departments on Friday.

The lawyers' group said she had been missing since Thursday, and was put on an Ethiopian Airways flight to Addis Ababa on Saturday.

'I should have been notified of her whereabouts and informed of what she had done,' said Conze.

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