TABLE 2. Cases of gross human rights violations reported to Human Rights Forum, July 2001 to December 2009. Source: Reports of the Human Rights Forum. 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 TOTALS Abductions 116 223 52 62 18 11 19 137 638 arrest & detention 670 274 627 389 1286 2611 2766 922 9545 Assault 0 86 388 401 530 486 865 1914 4670 attempted murder 0 2 10 10 1 3 0 8 34 death threats 0 12 80 35 9 7 7 51 201 disappearance 0 28 4 0 0 0 0 19 51 displacement 0 11 208 189 609 55 0 629 1701 Freedoms 12 39 809 760 1036 1866 3500 2532 10554 Murder 34 61 10 3 4 2 3 107 224 Political discrimination 194 388 450 514 476 288 980 2787 6077 property violation 356 807 153 132 61 55 16 396 1976 Rape 0 7 6 3 4 1 0 6 27 school closure 0 45 1 0 0 0 0 26 72 Torture 903 1172 497 389 136 366 603 723 4789 Total 2285 3155 3295 2887 4170 5751 8759 10257 40559 Monthly average: 380.8 262.9 274.6 240.6 347.5 479.3 729.9 854.8 As can also be seen from Table 2, the average number of violations per month has been rising steadily since 2005, with 2008 far and away the worst year since 2000. This again is similar to the trends reported later. A brief digression is necessary here on the issue of detention or imprisonment. It may seem contentious to argue that imprisonment is a human rights violation, especially when this occurs pursuant to a law that is in place, but various studies have demonstrated the wide-spread misapplication of the Public Order and Security Act [POSA], the Criminal Law [Codification & Reform] Act, and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, the former a piece of legislation that has even been criticized by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights 44. In a comprehensive analysis of the application of POSA in 1225 cases, the Solidarity Peace Trust showed clearly that the legislation was being used as an instrument of repression45. As the study showed: 735 persons [60%]were charged under POSA; 266 persons [22%] under the Miscellaneous Offences Act; 23 persons [2%] under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act; 17 persons [1%] were charged with Incitement to Violence; 51 persons [4%] were charged with various offences ranging from murder to malicious injury to property; 133 persons [11%] were not charged at all. However, the most telling statistic of all, the number of convictions, showed that there had been not one single successful prosecution under POSA, and, by the end of 2003, only 190 [16%] cases had been concluded, with 902 [73%] unresolved. As the Solidarity Peace Trust concluded: In 133 cases [11%], detainees were released without charges ever being laid; In 85 cases [7%], those arrested were acquitted by the courts; In 55 cases [5%], deposit or admission of guilt fines have been paid; In 50 cases [4%], charges were withdrawn. 44 45 Page 12 The African Commission, in its resolution of 5 December 2005, called for the repeal or substantial amendment of POSA, amongst other pieces of legislation. See Solidarity Peace Trust (2004), “Disturbing the peace”. An overview of civilian arrests in Zimbabwe: February 2003 – January 2004. July 2004. ZIMBABWE & SOUTH AFRICA: SOLIDARITY PEACE TRUST.