Zimbabwe cops raid rights group offices
2013-02-12 07:37
Special Report
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party has pledged to trim the army and ensure a free society if it wins upcoming general elections.
Harare - Zimbabwe police on Monday raided the offices of a
prominent human rights organisation in what lawyers said was the latest attempt
to intimidate campaigners in the country.
"At least seven police officers in civilian clothes
raided the offices of Zimbabwe Peace Project and took some documents including
reports and CDs," said Kumbirai Mafunda, the spokesperson for Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights.
"This is purely harassment and another crackdown on
human rights defenders," he told AFP, speaking on behalf of the Zimbabwe
Peace Project.
Mafunda said the officers had a warrant to search for
"articles [intended] for criminal use".
The document did not state the nature of the articles.
Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project records cases of human rights
violations, notably during the run-up to the bloody 2008 vote.
The raid came after police last month arrested Okay Machisa,
a leading activist and director of the human rights group Zimrights, for
"scanning voter registration certificates with false names and
misrepresenting that these people had been registered as voters".
He has since been freed on bail.
In December, police raided the Zimrights offices in central
Harare, detaining another official.
Political tensions
Zimbabwe police have led a growing crackdown on
non-governmental organisations seen as critical of President Robert Mugabe.
With the southern African country readying for elections
later this year, political tensions are running high and activists increasingly
targeted.
Authorities have in the past threatened to revoke
registration for groups deemed to be opposed to Mugabe's policies.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change party has urged the police to stop harassing rights activists and party
supporters.
This year's election is set to end the coalition government
led by arch-rivals Tsvangirai and Mugabe.
- SAPA
