A man who was injured during violent protests is seen at a hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe, Jan. 16, 2019. The Zimbabwe bishops’ justice and peace commission is collecting information on violence and human rights abuses in dioceses across the country.CNS photo/Philimon Bulawayo, Reuters
The HumanRights Report is used by journalists, lawyers, academics, and activists to promote respect for human rights.
According to the report, Human rights groups in Zimbabwe reported government agents perpetrated physical and psychological torture on labor leaders and opposition party members in recent years, including sexual assault; beating victims with sticks, clubs, cables, gun butts, and heavy whips (sjamboks); falanga (beating the soles of the feet); forced consumption of human excrement; oral chemical poisoning; and pouring corrosive substances on exposed skin.
The report further adds that on November 29, Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency CEO Doug Munatsi died in a house fire. Several media outlets reported that his remains showed signs of torture. Police indicated they would investigate the fire as possible arson. Various newspaper and social media sources, suspecting foul play, called for swift and transparent investigations into the cause of death.