JOHAnNESBURG — The United Nations (UN) on Friday urged Zimbabwe not to crack down on peaceful protesters, after Zimbabwean police fired tear gas and beat up more than a 100 opposition supporters with batons moments earlier, after they defied a protest ban in central Harare, according to witnesses.
Police combed Harare’s streets rounding up suspected opposition supporters, enforcing a clampdown on dissent after using water cannon to break up a protest that authorities had declared illegal.
In Geneva, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights agency, Rupert Colville, urged the authorities, not to crackdown on peaceful protesters and to ensure that people’s right to freedom of expression is respected.
Colville said that ahead of the planned protest, there had been worrying reports of threats against people who wanted to participate in demonstrations and protests about the current economic situation.
Sabc
