On July 24, 2024, Zimbabwean police in riot gear arrested 44 students after breaking up a Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) meeting and severely beating several unarmed students. Students’ injuries included broken bones. 

According to police, they were called to the ZINASU meeting after receiving complaints that students were fighting one another and destroying property. Tatenda Kutsirayi, ZINASU’s Harare province spokesperson, claimed the police were lying. 

Emmanuel Sitima, president of ZINASU and one of the arrested students, spent a night in police custody and was given a US $100 bail. He was charged with “criminal nuisance” after authorities accused him of having “chanted provocative statements against the state.” Other students arrested on July 24 were released after paying a US $15 fine. 

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the detention of students in retaliation for their peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of assembly – conduct which is expressly protected by international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Zimbabwe is a party. While state authorities have a responsibility to maintain safety and order, they also have an obligation to refrain from restricting nonviolent expressive activity. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, detentions aimed at restricting students’ freedom of expression, association, and assembly undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240726122346151
https://www.herald.co.zw/44-zinasu-activists-arrested/
https://www.globalstudentforum.org/violence-against-student-leaders-in-zimbabwe/
https://www.zimrights.org.zw/statement-alarming-escalation-of-state-repression-in-zimbabwe-ahead-of-44th-sadc-summit/