Church groups express concern with police violence in Zimbabwe

Published: 2007-03-16

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- Recent police violence and the arrest and torture in jail of anti-government protesters have been the cause for serious concern, said the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe. "The actions of the law enforcement agents were provocative, insulting and dehumanizing," the commission said in a March 13 statement. The police "exhibited highhandedness and overzealousness in dealing with the situation," it said. The commission said the Zimbabwean Constitution "guarantees the freedom of association and assembly, and yet the law enforcement agents brutalized with impunity people who wanted to enjoy their right to association and assembly." The commission called for the immediate release of all imprisoned activists and for a return to the rule of law. It called for a "thorough investigation into the shootings so that those involved are brought to book." An activist was shot dead by police, and several people were arrested March 11 while protesting in the capital Harare. Protesters were demonstrating against the government, which banned a prayer rally shortly before it was scheduled to occur.

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