Ekklesia reports that Amnesty International has asked Zimbabwe to stop harassing opponents of Mugabe:
The Zimbabwe authorities must stop harassing political opponents and government critics, Amnesty International said yesterday (10 May 2010), following the acquittal of a critic of President Robert Mugabe accused of plotting to overthrow him.
Roy Bennett, a Movement for Democratic Change official, had been charged with “conspiring to acquire arms with a view to disrupting essential services” following his arrest in February 2008. He was acquitted by a Harare court on Monday.
“While welcoming the acquittal of Roy Bennett, we remain concerned about persistent abuse of the law against perceived opponents of the former ZANU-PF government,” said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Africa.
“We urge the unity government to immediately end all malicious prosecutions of people exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” she added.
The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe has been a target of this harassment with members prohibited from worshipping in their churches and being terrorized as they try to pray. Read more here.