Zimbabwean Police Accused of Targeting Human Rights Workers

Not a good sign for the upcoming elections

Zimbabwean police have raided the offices of civil society organizations and detained human rights workers in the run-up to elections later this month, Amnesty International said.

"The clampdown on the work of human rights defenders is a worrying indicator that government agencies remain actively hostile to civil society," Noel Kututwa, Amnesty's deputy program director for Africa, said in an e-mailed statement today.

Zimbabweans will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on July 31, ending a power-sharing government led by President Robert Mugabe and his rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The coalition was formed four years ago following a disputed election that was marred by voter irregularities and violence, according to international observers.