STABBING DEATH OF SWEDISH NATIONAL WORKING FOR

UNCLAS HARARE 000095 SIPDIS DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/OPO, DS/IP/ITA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC SUBJECT: STABBING DEATH OF SWEDISH NATIONAL WORKING FOR WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) IN HARARE ¶1. On January 10 between 1530 and 1730 hours, a Swedish national named Lisa Veron who worked for WHO was stabbed to death. The incident occurred in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood which is a suburb of the city of Harare. While many facts are still being closely held by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP),contacts within the ZRP have revealed the following information. Preliminary findings indicate that Mrs. Veron was stabbed seven times with a screw driver or similar type instrument. According to ZRP sources, the stabbing is believed to have occurred inside of her personal vehicle. While motivation for the stabbing has not been established, police sources did indicate that several personal items of Mrs. Veron were missing from the vehicle. No further information is available at this time. ¶2. Note that the Mount Pleasant neighborhood where this incident occurred contains several Embassy residences, contains shops which Embassy employees frequent and is part of the diplomatic quarter. The RSO has provided details of the incident to the Embassy community and re-issued the safety notices regarding vehicular and residential security practices. ¶3. The RSO's office will continue to follow this incident and report Septel should any significant developments occur. DELL