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Political violence report: April 2007 - Overview
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
June 19, 2007

http://www.hrforumzim.com/frames/inside_frame_monthly.htm

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Overview

The month of April saw no relent in police brutality against MDC supporters and any dissent whatsoever to the ZANU PF government. From the narratives in this report, it would seem that there is a concerted effort by Zimbabwe's security forces especially the ZRP and CIO to weed out MDC supporters through the guise of wanting to investigate and arrest those people who perpetrated bombing acts on police stations across the country since the beginning of the year.

Of the politically motivated violence that occurred countrywide in April, statistical figures in this report show that there were 2 cases of abductions, 78 of assaults, 148 violations on freedoms of expression, association and movement, and 27 cases of torture. In the majority of the torture cases, members of the ZRP or the CIO or both working in cahoots were involved. The trend that has emerged from this April report is that most of the victims are either MDC members who were being accused of petrol bombing police stations, or having gone to South Africa to receive military training. In other cases, the police have gone to suspects' houses and failed to find them and then attacked whoever would have been present. In most instances, as the report will show it will be women and young children who are then subjected to intimidation, harassment and heavy assaults by the perpetrators be it ZANU PF supporters, police officers or members of the CIO.

The Human Rights Forum deplores such investigative tactics, as they do not conform to the professionalism that is expected of law enforcement officers internationally. There are several important sets of standards which proscribe torture and relate to the conduct of law enforcement officials which have been adopted through the United Nations, including a Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officers1 and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. The Human Rights Forum also notes that torture is proscribed under international law even under whatever circumstance2.

The Human Rights Forum will again reiterate that those police officers that continue to torture citizens will one day be brought to justice. The absolute ban on torture includes situations where a superior officer or public authority orders it. The same police officers should be warned that such orders are illegal under international law and cannot be relied on as defence.

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