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Students tortured in custody
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
October 16, 2007

Two students are reported to be in a critical condition in Masvingo Central Police Station. The two are part of the 11 students who were arrested in Masvingo yesterday for demonstrating against the continued detention of Edison Hlatswayo in Remand Prison since 27 September 2007.

Information filtering from the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) Secretary General Beloved Chiweshe is that the two whose names could not be identified yet suffered head injuries and swollen faces. It is believed that they were beaten up as part of the police interrogations in their attempt to locate the rest of the ZINASU leadership.

Amongst those arrested are Cleopas Zhoya, Chitsike Munyaradzi whilst the other two could only be identified as Stewart and Gode. Of the 11 students arrested, five were arrested at Masvingo Polytechnic College whilst the other seven were arrested at Great Zimbabwe University.

Meanwhile the trial of Edison Hlatswayo will commence at 1400 hours after the magistrate postponed the court hearing in the morning. Hlatswayo has spent 20 days in detention. He was tortured whilst in custody. His health is deteriorating due to the sub-human conditions in the filthy police cells.

The arrests of students, women and human rights activists for constitutionally expressing their views and opinion must be stopped. This is a violation of the constitution of Zimbabwe and also a violation of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) provisions on the citizenry's rights.

The ruthless descend on human rights activists by the police indicate the high levels of violations as we approach the 2008 elections. When the students, women and other human rights activists demand the same space to air their views they are blatantly beaten up, detained, tortured, harassed and killed. The culture of the state unleashing violence to perceived state enemies especially towards elections has become an albatross over the necks of peace loving Zimbabweans. The country has been subjected to bloodshed in the previous elections; it's high time the hoodlums funning such violence make way for a national healing process.

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