Zim student leaders detained
2009-08-07 09:56
Special Report
Zimbabwe has shut down the capital's main courthouse after a suspected outbreak of typhoid affected magistrates and court officials.
A dusty road leads to the village of Wedza, where veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation war eke out a meagre living on their farm cooperative, which after a promising start now brings only despair.
Harare - Police have arrested four student leaders after a foiled protest at Zimbabwe's main university over new tuition fees, a human rights group said on Thursday.
"Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) confirm the arrest and detention of four representatives of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) at the University of Zimbabwe," the group said in a statement.
The four were arrested as they addressed students over a decision by authorities at the institution to bar students who have not paid their tuition fees from attending lectures or using the library.
"Now the disturbing and unfortunate trend of clamping down on students' freedom of assembly, association and expression has been resurrected in defiance of both the executive order and the constitution of Zimbabwe," the ZLHR said.
The University of Zimbabwe reopened on Monday after closing in February, but the majority of its students were not allowed into lecture rooms after failing to pay a deposit on the $400 in tuition fees.
Continued harassment
The student leaders' arrest drew condemnation from the international rights group Amnesty International.
"We are dismayed at the continued harassment and intimidation by police of activists and human rights defenders, despite the inauguration of the inclusive government," said Amnesty International Africa director Erwin van der Borght.
"The student leaders should be released immediately and unconditionally. Their unlawful arrest demonstrates yet again the need to urgently reform the security sector in Zimbabwe," he said in a statement.
Poverty is high in Zimbabwe where most government workers earn an average salary of $150 and unemployment is running at a record 94%.
- AFP