There were widespread reports of systematic and escalating violations of human rights in Zimbabwe under the regime of Robert Mugabe and his party, ZANU-PF, between 1980 and 2017.
Opposition gatherings are frequently the subject of brutal attacks by the police force, such as the crackdown on an 11 March 2007 Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) rally.
[1] After his release, Morgan Tsvangirai told the BBC that he suffered head injuries and blows to the arms, knees and back, and that he lost a significant amount of blood.
The violations are perpetrated by government supporters as well as law enforcement agencies, and include assaults, torture, death threats, kidnappings and unlawful arrests and detentions.
In the same year, Robert Mugabe condemned judges at Zimbabwe's Supreme Court who asked him to comment on the illegal arrest and torture, by state security services, of two journalists, Mark Chavunduka and Ray Choto.
According to Human Rights Watch there have been a growing number of cases in which police have assaulted and tortured opposition supporters and civil society activists.
He had been the subject of constant police surveillance since 2000 due to his involvement in MDC party rallies and recruitment with assistance from fellow members and former student activists Tafadzwa Takawira and Tendai Ndira, who had also been victims of police brutality, torture and unlawful detention in cells which were of inhuman conditions and poor sanitary standards with non-flushing toilets and little air ventilation within the cells.
[7] The organisation finds that the law enforcement agencies are encouraged to perpetrate abuses by statements made by high-ranking members of the ruling party ZANU-PF.
It has backed up this statement with random and indiscriminate acts of state-sponsored violence from various security forces on anyone perceived to be an opponent; these attacks often occur without provocation or warning as a form of state terrorism.
Oppositional and independent newspapers have been ordered to close by the authorities, and journalists are intimidated, arrested, and prosecuted, with the support of laws criminalising the publication of "inaccurate" information.
[citation needed] The executions were strongly condemned by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the European Union and the United States and also the then shadow foreign security David Miliband.
The Opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Morgan Tsvangirai, won both the parliamentary election and the first round of the presidential, sparking a run-off in a latter.
[15] It was alleged that Zimbabwe's security forces had a torture camp in the Marange diamond fields;[16] methods include severe beatings, sexual assault and dog mauling.
[16] On 8 June 2020, the Amnesty International reported torture and sexual assault of three opposition activists and members of parliament, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.
They were arrested and forcibly disappeared on 13 May in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, for leading an anti-government protest over the authorities’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and far-reaching hunger in the country.
[20][citation needed] The Mugabe administration has also been criticized by political opponents and groups like Amnesty International for the human rights abuses carried out by the country's security services.
[22] On July 24, 2020, Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights raised concerns over arrests of a prominent investigative journalist and an opposition leader citing that Zimbabwe authorities should not use COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to clamp down on fundamental freedoms.
[23] On August 5, 2020, the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter campaign drew attention of international celebrities and politicians towards human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, mounting pressure on Emmerson Mnanagwa’s government.
The campaign came after arrests, abductions and torture of high-profile political activists and the incarceration of the journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono, and the Booker Prize long-listed author, Tsitsi Dangarembga.