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Police brutality hardened us, say Zimbabweans beaten at meeting

"It was Sunday 11 March 2007 in the morning. We were Zimbabweans, peacefully going to a Save Zimbabwe Campaign prayer meeting. Without any provocation the police pounced and unleashed a wave of brutality which included beatings, arrests and killings." This statement was made by the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, an alliance of churches, Christian organizations, political parties and civic groups in early March, reports Ecumenical News International.

The alliance was commemorating the first anniversary of alleged police

brutality against hundreds of people who intended to hold a prayer meeting at Harare's Zimbabwe Grounds on 11 March 2007. Convened by the campaign to seek divine intervention for Zimbabwe's crisis, the prayer meeting was disrupted by armed police. They arrested and beat up civil society and opposition political activists, including Morgan Tsvangirai, president of the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition party.

The police also shot and killed an activist from the National Constitutional Assembly, Gift Tandare, who was intending to take part in the prayer meeting. None of those arrested at the prayer meeting were formally charged with any crime.

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[03/22/2008]

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