Zimbabwe - July 2024

More than 160 people were arrested and dozens beaten in a crackdown by Zimbabwean police that began in mid-June and continued into July. Those targeted included members of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), union leaders, students and journalists. While many were released without charge, by early August, 75 of the 78 CCC members arrested on 16 June remained arbitrarily detained, according to rights groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Lawyers for three arrested activists alleged that their clients had been severely tortured during their detention. In late June, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa had issued a warning against ‘opposition political parties bent on peddling falsehoods and instigating acts of civil disorder, especially before, during and after regional and world state events’ – a reference to the Southern African Development Community summit scheduled to be held in Harare on 17 August.      

Sources: Human Rights Watch, ZimLive, University World News, Reuters, International Federation for Human Rights, The Herald