The forms of torture described in this report have been described again in 2008. As SPT2 described this: 252 fractures have been treated; 163 cases of falanga – beating on the soles of the feet – have been treated. This is a very serious form of torture with long term health consequences for people, leaving them with sore feet possibly for life; 450 people have reported partial or total loss of their property to political violence; 1798 assaults were reported of which 75% involved the use of weapons, usually sticks, but including iron bars, barbed wire, knives; 420 reports of torture were recorded, including being burnt with burning grass or plastic bags (12); being submerged in water either to induce severe cold and to increase the pain of being assaulted or to induce temporary suffocation (20); being restrained and/or blindfolded (89); 309 people reported abductions and 109 were detained; 8 gun shot wounds (GSW) were treated; There were literally thousands of reports of soft tissue damage of different types, including haematomas, welts, bruising, swelling, lacerations and abrasions. These varied from mild injuries to very severe; There were 205 head injuries treated: all head injuries are potentially serious and can leave long term damage, including loss of eye sight, minimal brain damage, neck injuries. This picture was wholly corroborated by the reports of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights [ZADHR]. It is evident from the SPT2 report that the injuries were very severe, and consonant with extreme physical abuse. However, it also seems that the SPT2 report may, in an effort to be conservatively accurate, have underestimated the amount of torture, and it is not clear that the 163 cases of falanga are counted as part of the 420 reports of torture, or are an additional number. In the latter case, SPT2 would have recorded 583 cases of torture, or 13% of the total 3320 cases reported upon. There are obvious difficulties in deciding how much torture took place in 2008. SPT2 reports that 75% of the 1798 cases of assault involved the use of weapons, or what would be termed aggravated assault or assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm, according to Section 89 (3)(d) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act (Chapter 09:23)94. In the SPT2 report, assault was 54% of the total of 3320 cases, but, if 75% of these cases could classified as torture, then torture could be claimed in as many as 41% of all cases in the SPT2 report. However, such a re-classification would not only depend on the use of a weapon, but also on whether the perpetrators could be identified as either government agents or persons acting with the condonation of the government. As was seen from the earlier section on the perpetrators, it is possible to claim that much of the violence classified as assault could be re-classified as torture since all the various groups identified as perpetrators are strongly affiliated to ZANU PF and hence the government. In the Human Rights Forum report from August 2008, reporting on 285 cases seen by the Forum, 74% of the cases were classified as assault [GBH], a figure that is almost identical to that reported in SPT295. The Human Rights Forum in the same report argues that 44% of the cases seen could be classified as torture, and report asphyxiation (10%), burns (2%), the use of restraints (3%) and falanga (4%). The Human Rights Forum also reports very high rates of what would be classified as psychological torture – threats (49%), intimidation (89%), and forced displacement (19%). Thus, it does seem that there is strong agreement between the SPT reports and those of the Human Rights Forum. Of the various types of torture, falanga is of particular interest because it is indisputably torture. The Human Rights Forum, in its most recent report, examined this form of torture, commenting that it was infrequently documented prior to 200096. Although cases were reported during the Liberation War, it does appear that falanga has now become very common. In an analysis of the cases seeking civil damages, 35 (12%) cases of alleged falanga were carried out mostly by the ZRP. It is also the case that the use of falanga is only restricted to cases in which the victim was perceived to be a political opponent97. However, the use of falanga has spread outside of the ZRP, as the Human Rights Forum reported in 2009: An analysis of all the cases of torture reported to the Human Rights Forum and its members during May 2008 was undertaken. There were 377 cases reported in May, and 49 [13%] of these explicitly reported falanga. However, the sample reported very high rates of aggravated assaults (assaults involving the use of weapons or other instruments), with 262 [70%] reporting such assaults, and 29 [59%] reporting other forms of torture. Falanga was significantly associated with assault, other forms of torture, abductions, and much more likely to have been carried out by members of ZANU PF youth than any other group. There was also a significant association in the group specifically mentioning falanga between ZANU PF Youth and War Veterans. Thus, the oft-quoted relationship between gross human rights violations, elections, and supporters of the ZANU PF party is once again found to be the case for May 200898. 94 95 96 97 98 Page 34 Since there is no domestic crime of torture in Zimbabwean law, any case of torture would be classified as one kind of assault or other. Here bear in mind the earlier comment about assault in Zimbabwean law. The Human Rights Forum is clearly using an older terminology, which, in Zimbabwean criminal law, should be better described as “serious assault”. See Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum [2009], Only Bruises on the Soles of their Feet? Torture and Falanga in Zimbabwe. Report produced by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. February 2009. HARARE: ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM. S vs Reza, HH-02-04, Crim. Appeal 159/03. Here the Zimbabwe High Court found the ZRP guilty of using falanga against an alleged criminal suspect. See Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum [2009], Only Bruises on the Soles of their Feet? Torture and Falanga in Zimbabwe. Report produced by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. February 2009. HARARE: ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM (p13).