The month of May was characterized by a marked increase in the number of torture cases numbering 84 in the period. Twenty-seven students were arrested following class boycotts at Bindura State University and the police reportedly tortured 16 of the students. After a computer lab at Bindura State University was burnt down, around 80 students were arrested and many of them were also tortured in police custody.
The Human Rights Forum notes with great concern that violence and torture continue to be used in Zimbabwe by state agents as a way of quelling dissent, as well as extracting information from the public, be it for political or criminal purposes. The Forum implores the State to respect its international obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international instruments to which it is party and also to ratify the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel or Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
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