Zimbabwean opposition beaten and mauled for illegal rally

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Defiant Tsvangirai to 'fight on'

Mr Tsvangirai had a swollen face when he appeared in court

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has pledged to continue his "struggle" after he and other activists were beaten while in police custody.

Mr Tsvangirai and 12 of his supporters have been kept in hospital after what he called a "sadistic attack".

The activists were arrested on Sunday when police broke up a rally in Harare which the authorities had banned.

Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi told the state-run Herald newspaper that the law would be enforced "to its fullest".

Mr Tsvangirai - who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - was among 50 opposition activists who appeared in a Harare court on Tuesday, following two days in police detention.

As he and others were led away from the Harare court, he condemned their treatment by police.

"It was the most vicious assault I have ever witnessed" Tendai Biti, MDC spokesman

"The police assaulted defenceless civilians but the struggle continues," Mr Tsvangirai said.

Speaking to the BBC from a hospital, MDC official Tendai Biti described how he and his colleagues were beaten up.

"I can hardly walk. They were hitting me on the buttocks and on my legs, the fibula. I was assaulted while I was lying prostrate.

"There were others who were assaulted while standing and in the process tried to defend themselves, which is why we've got so many people with fractures of the hand."

Mr Biti said it was "the most vicious assault" he had ever witnessed, adding that Mr Tsvangirai was in "a very bad condition".

"I saw him being assaulted. There was a time when for 15 minutes they were assaulting him with their baton sticks non-stop. He must have passed out at least three times," he said.

Twelve of the 50 suspects have been allowed to stay in hospital overnight for treatment, among them Mr Tsvangirai.

The others have been released into the charge of their lawyers until Wednesday morning, when they will appear in court again.

The men are expected to be charged with incitement to violence. They tried to hold what they described as a prayer meeting in Harare on Sunday.

'Ruthless' regime

In a rare criticism of its neighbour, South Africa urged Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to respect the rights of citizens, including opposition leaders.

The action against Sunday's demonstration was strongly condemned by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, as well as the US and European Union.

TSVANGIRAI'S LEGAL TROUBLES
2003: Charged with treason - later dropped
2002: Lost election to Mugabe, charged with treason - later dropped
2000: Charged with treason - later dropped
2000: MDC won 57 parliamentary seats
1999: Helped form MDC

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for Mr Tsvangirai's immediate release.

"The world community again has been shown that the regime of Robert Mugabe is ruthless and repressive and creates only suffering for the people of Zimbabwe," she said.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour urged Zimbabwe to conduct an "immediate, impartial and comprehensive investigation" into what happened.

However, few of Zimbabwe's neighbours have condemned its policies.

President Levy Mwanawasa of neighbouring Zambia voiced his concern about the situation, but said problems in Zimbabwe were for its own people to solve.

Zimbabwe's Information Minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, told the BBC that the police officers' action was justified as they were under attack by opposition activists.

The government said the rally breached a ban on political gatherings imposed after violence at a demonstration last month.

Civil discontent in Zimbabwe is rising over the country's economic crisis, with chronic unemployment and inflation running at more than 1,700% - the highest in the world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6448559.stm
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Robert Mugabe should be removed by force, if need be. Mad

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Zimbabwe stops activists leaving
Nelson Chamisa after he was allegedly assaulted by Zimbabwean security forces.
Chamisa said unidentified men hit him and ran
Four leading Zimbabwean opposition members have been prevented from going abroad and one of them was attacked at the airport, the opposition says.

MP Nelson Chamisa said he was beaten as he tried to leave. The government denied its forces were involved.

Earlier two women activists were stopped as they tried to leave to get treatment for injuries sustained in police custody, their lawyer said.

And Arthur Mutambara was re-arrested as he was about to leave the country.

Earlier, the African Union urged Harare to respect human rights in the country.

There is no security. There is no protection. All of us are at risk
Nelson Chamisa
MDC spokesman

In a statement, the pan-African body also called for a "constructive dialogue" to resolve Zimbabwe's deepening crisis.

Western criticism of Robert Mugabe's government intensified after Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was beaten after last Sunday's rally in Harare.

'Arbitrary act'

Mr Chamisa, an MDC spokesman, had been on his way to attend an Africa Caribbean Pacific-EU meeting in Belgium.

He said he had been approached by unidentified men as he got out of his car outside the departures' hall at Harare Airport.

"I was suddenly surrounded by, I think, about eight men," he said later.

"One wore a green t-shirt. The other ones had suits. Then I was hit, I think about three times... Then I fell to the ground."

Mr Chamisa said he had seen his attackers running off towards two vehicles without registration plates.

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai leaving hospital
Things were bad, things are bad, but I think this crisis has reached the tipping point and we could be seeing the beginning of the end of this dictatorship
Morgan Tsvangirai, MDC leader

'Zimbabwe is still working'

"Some women they came to me and started to help me. With a handkerchief. They were trying to stop the blood. It was really coming out," he said.

He has now been admitted to hospital in Harare where his doctor says he has a fractured skull.

"There is no security. There is no protection. All of us are at risk," Mr Chamisa said.

In an interview with the BBC's Focus on Africa programme, Zimbabwe's Minister of Information, Sikanyiso Ndlovu, denied that state security forces were involved in the attack, saying the opposition was responsible for causing havoc in Zimbabwe.

Arthur Mutambara, leader of one of the factions of the MDC, was re-arrested on Saturday, and is now being held at Harare central police station.

Grace Kwinje and Sekai Holland tried to go to South Africa to receive specialist treatment on Saturday evening, Tafadzwa Mugabe, a lawyer who accompanied them, told the BBC's World Today programme.

They were among a number of activists beaten while in police custody after being arrested last week.

Tafadzwa Mugabe said all their papers were in order but - just before boarding the flight - the authorities said the two women needed an additional "clearance letter from the ministry of health".

"This was just an arbitrary act," the lawyer said, adding that they would be taking legal action.

He said that the condition of the two women activists remained critical.

'Tipping point'

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has told the BBC's Sunday AM programme that the situation has reached a critical stage.

"Well I think that this is a tipping point," he said.

"Things were bad, things are bad, but I think this crisis has reached the tipping point and we could be seeing the beginning of the end of this dictatorship."

President Mugabe has rejected Western criticism and blamed the opposition for instigating the violence.

Mr Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for 27 years, but there is increasing discontent over the country's economic crisis.