8 suggested that they relate to elections. Below we examine the data relating to summary and extra-judicial executions and torture as they relate to the second of these two hypotheses. Summary and extra-judicial executions The number of summary and extra-judicial executions has been relatively small in Zimbabwe in comparison to some countries, but the number of deaths is not the only indication of the seriousness of a problem: the pattern is also important, and, when taken together with other forms of human rights violations, can be indicative of a planned strategy. 8 Here see Reeler, A.P. (2003), The Perpetrators of Gross Human Rights Violations in Zimbabwe from February 2000 to March 2003, Paper presented to “Civil Society and Justice in Zimbabwe: A Symposium”, organised by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, Themba Le Sizwe and the International Bar Association, Holiday Inn, Johannesburg, 11-13 August 2003. 18