OVERVIEW

As it has seemingly become common practice, the month of July was again characterised by police brutality on peaceful demonstrators. The ZRP arrested 279 NCA members following a countrywide demonstration against Constitutional Amendment (No 18) Bill¹. Close to 170 of the demonstrators, including the NCA National Director, Ernest Mudzengi, were hospitalised after being severely tortured while in police custody at Harare Central Police Station. It is reported that the police arrested 243 NCA members in Harare while 12 people were arrested in Mutare, 10 in Masvingo and 14 in Gweru. The Human Rights Forum notes with concern the continued use of force by the ZRP in contravention of its Police Charter and other international norms and standards that regulate the conduct of law enforcement officials. The Human Rights Forum deplores such use of force by the police and urges the state to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of citizens who go about engaging in civic activities and peacefully expressing their need to participate in issues that concern their governance.

On July 7, armed police officers descended on students at the University of Zimbabwe who were gathered for a general meeting that had been called for by the Students Representative Council (SRC). The meeting had been convened in order to discuss the issue of an extra Z$1 million that the University was charging all students living in the halls of residents. Riot police reportedly dispersed the gathering using teargas canisters and randomly beat up students using baton sticks. It is also reported that six students, including three student leaders were arrested, detained and tortured at Avondale Police Station. Following these disturbances, the Vice - Chancellor of University of Zimbabwe, Levy Nyagura ordered students out of halls of residences in instances reminiscent of the infamous Operation Murambatsvina. A short notice was given before students were evicted from the halls of residence under the supervision of riot police. The evictions resulted in the majority of students having to sleep in the open for a number of days. Furthermore, the Vice Chancellor suspended 26 students indefinitely on allegations of unbecoming behaviour and damage to property after the demonstrations.

In a case that exposes state security agents’ methods of torture, members of the ZRP Homicide Department reportedly assaulted two female victims for not knowing the whereabouts of one of the victim’s sons. The state agents reportedly destroyed household property during the raid. A kitchen chair was used to assault one of the two women. The Forum again reiterates that state security agents must desist from practicing torture under any circumstances. Moreover, the wanton beating of women for wrongs allegedly perpetrated by their children, relatives or partners is unjustified and smacks in the face of efforts to protect women from violence from any quarters.

Totals: 1 July – 31 July 2007

Cumulative Totals: 1 January – 31 July 2007

The graph should be read along with the table depicting the monthly totals of violations for July 2007 on page 13.

Key Abbreviations

Sources: The information contained in this report is derived from statements made to the Public Interest Unit of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum, statements taken by a network of human rights activists and newspaper reports,

Notes to the tables:

Torture:

All cases of torture fall under the definition of torture according to the general definition given in the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment.

The four elements of torture are:

1. Severe pain and suffering, whether physical or mental

2. Intentionally inflicted

3. With a purpose

4. By a state official or another individual acting with the acquiescence of the state.

Those individuals referred to in point # 4 include the ZRP, ZNA, ZPS and the ZNLWVA (as a reserve force of the ZNA) and by any other grouping when directly sanctioned by the state.

Unlawful arrest and detention:

Arrest by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) with no reasonable suspicion that an offence has been committed. Detention thereafter for a period exceeding 48 hours without access to redress through the courts or subsequent release without charge.

Abduction/kidnapping:

A kidnapping by a member(s) of an organised group that is not the ZRP, political party, ZNLWVA, ZNA, MDC, Zanu PF etc

Disappearance:

Kidnapped persons whose whereabouts remained unknown at the time of reporting. Their whereabouts have still to be ascertained through follow up reports or further investigation.

Property related

These are incidents in which property rights have been violated. This includes arson, property damage and destruction and theft.

Cases of Political Violence

Note: The identities of victims whose names have not been published in the press and are not public officials are protected. This is done in order to protect the victim from further violence, intimidation and possible recriminatory attacks.

The purpose of this report is to record the nature of the politically motivated violence and intimidation that continues to prevail in the country. The Monthly Political Violence Reports are primarily based on victims’ accounts, accompanied by medical evidence where possible, obtained from member organisations of the Human Rights Forum and other partner organisations. Use is also made of press reports.

Furthermore, in this edition we include reports on police violence in non – political matters. This serves to demonstrate the way in which violent actions of the state and state agents exceed their legitimate limits and powers and which indicates an increasing and more widespread politicisation of violence.

The Report cannot be considered as the exhaustive record of all incidents of politically-motivated violence in Zimbabwe in the period under review. Nevertheless, every incident reported to the Human Rights Forum directly or through its members is meticulously documented and included in the reports. Care is also taken to record the incidents in the language in which they were reported to the Forum.

The situation prevailing in the country is such that it has not been possible to verify all of these accounts. The Human Rights Forum has done what it can to verify the reports, and is satisfied that the vast majority of them are substantially true. It is also not possible to rule out whether a victim’s account is exaggerated or contains inaccuracies.

All reports derived from the press are denoted with the symbol ∑.

HARARE

Harare Central

25 July 2007

It is reported that police arrested 243 NCA members following a demonstration against Constitutional Amendment (No 18) Bill. Close to 170 of the demonstrators, including the NCA National Director, Ernest Mudzengi, were later hospitalised after being severely assaulted while in police custody at Harare Central Police Station. The police allegedly picked up the demonstrators while demonstrating and others were arrested from the NCA offices. The activists were reportedly forced onto police trucks that ferried them to Harare Central Police Station were they were assaulted continuously for more than two hours by police officers who took turns to carryout the beatings.

28 July 2007

The victim claims that unknown assailants picked him up after making comments about empty shelves in a shop. He alleges that an unidentified man asked to be accompanied outside the shop after he had the remarks. The victim however refused and was then reportedly dragged out of the shop and bundled into a silver Lexus vehicle. The assailants allegedly drove away with the victim and assaulted him in the process. It is reported that the victim was later thrown out of the car between Third Street and Tongogara Avenue. The victim reportedly bled until he lost consciousness. He only regained consciousness after receiving medical attention at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

29 July 2007

A member of the ZRP allegedly assaulted two victims after having overheard them making what were purportedly criminal remarks about members of the ZNA’s salaries. It is alleged that the victims had noted that the soldiers’ salaries were too low. The police officer reportedly then arrested them and called the military police for back up. Four army officers reportedly arrived at the scene and started beating the victims with batons and booted feet all over the body. The victims were ordered to get into a car and taken to the 2 Brigade Army Barracks where they were tortured further before being shackled in leg irons and beaten under the feet for close to 3 hours. One of the victims was beaten on the face and bled profusely. They were later transferred to Braeside Police Station and were later released upon the intervention of their lawyers.

Harare North

7 July 2007

Armed police officers descended on students at the University of Zimbabwe who were gathered for a general meeting that had been called for by the Students Representative Council (SRC). The meeting had been convened in order to discuss the issue of the one million dollars top up fees that the University was charging all students living in the halls of residents. Riot police reportedly dispersed the gathering using teargas canisters and randomly beat up students using baton sticks. It is also reported that six students, including three student leaders were reportedly arrested, tortured and detained at Avondale Police Station. The police are alleged to have also interrupted a church service at the University chapel and frog-marched a group of students who were attending the service.

In reaction to the demonstration, the Vice - Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe, Levy Nyagura ordered the closure of halls of residences with immediate effect. Most students had to sleep in the open during a cold winter night. Furthermore, 26 students were reportedly suspended indefinitely on allegations of inciting students to demonstrate and participating in the demonstration.

Below is a list of students who had collected their suspension letters.

1 Lovemore Chinoputsa (UZ SEC President)

2 Shaun Matsheza (UZ SEC Vice-President)

3 Kudakwashe Mapundu (UZ SEC Secretary General)

4 Caesar Sitiya

5 Manifest Jabuli

6 Tatenda Chiuya

7 Shadreck Vengesai

8 Thabani Moyo

9 Shingai Chikomba

10 Fortune Chamba

11 Jotham Shumba

12 Munyaradzi Chikova

Harare South

13 July 2007

The two female victims report that armed men in plain - clothes who identified themselves as members of the ZRP Homicide Department assaulted them. The officers were looking for one of the victims’ sons who were not a home at the time. The police reportedly destroyed property including a kitchen chair, which was used to assault one of the two women and an antique furniture cupboard. One of the women sustained a broken arm after she was assaulted with the chair.

St Mary’s

15 July 2007

Three victims were allegedly severely assaulted by suspected ZANU PF youths. One of the victim reports that they had attended a rally and they were on their way to Huruyadzo Shopping Centre for drinks when they came across a group of more than 30 ZANU PF youths who accused them of “derailing developments” in Zimbabwe by supporting the MDC. The gang then reportedly descended on them and started assaulting them. The assailants only stopped the assault upon the intervention of onlookers

Manicaland

Mutare Central

7 July 2007

The Student Representative Council President for Mutare Polytechnic, Bina Dube, allegedly received death threats from the CIO and was accused of distributing Save Zimbabwe Campaign t – shirts on campus. She also received threats of arrest for her purported crime. She reports that she was called for questioning on her role in ZINASU, Save Zimbabwe Campaign as well as the MDC. It is further alleged that the victim and seven other students from the Mutare Polytechnic have been denied residence at the institution for reasons suspected to be connected to the above allegations.

25 July 2007

The police arrested 12 NCA members during a demonstration organised by NCA. They were later released without charge after being assaulted whilst in police custody. The demonstration was part of the countrywide protests against the proposed Constitutional Amendment (No 18) Bill. After the incident, the Acting NCA Youth Chairperson for Mutare was allegedly abducted by officers from the PISI and taken to the cells at Mutare Police Station. It is alleged that he was heavily tortured whilst in police custody.

Masvingo

Masvingo Central

ZimOnline, 20 July 2007

20 July 2007

∑.Six senior police officers from Masvingo Province were reportedly taken before a police disciplinary body pending demotion from the position of superintendent to inspector on allegations of freeing MDC activists arrested in March. The MDC activists had been arrested for protesting against the arrest and torture of the party’s leadership and some of its members. The six police officers appeared before a disciplinary board, which resolved to suspend the officers for releasing prisoners without following proper procedures.

25 July2007

Police arrested 10 NCA members who were demonstrating against Constitutional Amendment (No 18) Bill. The members allege that the police beat them up before they were released without any charges being preferred against them.

ZimOnline, 26 July 207

26 July 2007

∑.The Government of Zimbabwe reportedly withdrew allowances for 3 chiefs and several headmen in Masvingo Province for their alleged alliance with the MDC. Zimbabwe’s traditional leaders receive monthly allowances from the government for performing various duties in their districts. Several headmen from Gutu, Mwenezi, Chiredzi and Bikita reportedly had their allowances withdrawn over their political affiliation.

Midlands

Gweru

25 July 2007

Police arrested 14 NCA members who were demonstrating against Constitutional Amendment (No 18) Bill. The demonstrators were allegedly assaulted whilst in police custody. 5 of the members were later taken to the hospital after incurring serious injuries during the assaults. The members were later released after paying ZW $ 800, 00.

The table below and the graphs on page 4 above depict the number of violations committed on

the persons whose circumstances are described in the report. One individual may have been subjected to many violations and thus appear under several categories of violations.

Monthly totals of human rights violations from 1 January 2007 to 31 July 2007

Administrative Map of ZIMBABWE

Zambia

Mozambique

The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (also known as the “Human Rights Forum”) is a coalition comprising 17 member organisations. It has been in existence since January 1998 when non-Governmental organisations working in the field of human rights joined together to provide legal and psychosocial assistance to the victims of the Food Riots of January 1998.

The Human Rights Forum has now expanded its objectives to assist victims of organised violence, using the following definition:

“Organised violence” means the inter-human infliction of significant avoidable pain and suffering by an organised group according to a declared or implied strategy and/or system of ideas and attitudes. It comprises any violent action, which is unacceptable by general human standards, and relates to the victims’ mental and physical well-being.”

The Human Rights Forum operates a Research and Documentation Unit and offers legal services to assist victims of organised violence and torture claim compensation from perpetrators through its Public Interest Unit.

Member organisations of the Human Rights Forum are:

• Amnesty International (Zimbabwe) (AI (Z))

• Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP)

• Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)

• Human Rights Trust of Southern Africa (SAHRIT)

• Legal Resources Foundation (LRF)

• Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)

• Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ)

• Nonviolent Action and Strategies for Social Change (NOVASC)

• Transparency International (Zimbabwe) (TI (Z))

• Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

• Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO)

• Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR)

• Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET)

• Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)

• Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)

• Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP)

• Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA)

The Human Rights Forum can be contacted through any member organisation or through:

The Administrator, P O Box 9077, Harare – email: admin@hrforum.co.zw

The Public Interest Unit, P O Box 9077, Harare – email: legal@hrforum.co.zw

The Research Unit, P O Box 9077, Harare – email: research@hrforum.co.zw

Address: 8^th Floor Bluebridge North, Eastgate, Harare; Telephone: 250511 - Fax: 250494

The International Liaison Office, 56- 64 Leonard Street London EC 2A 4JX– email: IntLO@hrforumzim.com

Telephone+44-20-7065-0945

Website: www.hrforumzim.com

Previous reports of the Human Rights Forum can be found on our website.