Zimbabwe opposition activist charged in court for illegal assembly

Twenty of Zimbabwe’s 20 opposition activists appeared in court on Monday seeking bail, including a lawmaker who was arrested over the weekend when he raided a parliamentarian’s home on suspicion of illegal assembly.

The hearings that followed Tuesday were marked by a media blackout as the country gears up for tough national elections expected later this year.

An AFP correspondent said a tense atmosphere prevailed at the magistrate’s court in the capital Harare, where journalists were harassed and barred from covering the proceedings by armed riot police.

Police armed with AK47 assault rifles, tear gas canisters and batons pushed the journalists aside, with one telling them to “leave the court building or be injured.”

Only two state media journalists were allowed access to the court.

Police “must not selectively apply directives to some journalists and exclude others,” warned media watchdog MISA-Zimbabwe.

One of the arrested Kudzai Kadzere’s lawyers said he was attacked by riot police on Saturday as he approached a police station where 25 activists were being held. he broke his arm.

The attacks were “a new low for Zimbabwe, with the police, who have a constitutional duty to protect the rights of every citizen, among all people, to take a front row seat and violate the same.” We are deeply disappointed that the said in a statement.

Arrested are members of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), the largest opposition party led by Nelson Chamisa.

They were arrested Saturday while holding a private meeting at a lawmaker’s residence in Harare Township.

Those arrested include an 83-year-old man, 72, and a 17-year-old girl.

Rights groups and opposition parties have complained of an intensifying government crackdown on opposition to this year’s general elections.

“It’s an arrest designed to persecute party members,” said party spokeswoman Fazai Mahele. “We continue to see an escalation of political violence…”

“We want elections, we don’t want war. This doesn’t bode well for free and fair elections,” she told reporters outside the courtroom.