The police have also regularized the practice of arbitrary arrest through the use of other acts such as the MOA. Peaceful demonstrators are sometimes arrested and charged under the MOA with “conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace.” Under the act, violators must pay a fine in order to be released from custody.33 According to several lawyers and civil society activists interviewed by Human Rights Watch, those charged who refuse to admit guilt and pay the fine, or say they are unable to pay it, are often threatened with more serious charges and told that they will be detained for 48 hours or more. The inhumane conditions in many of Zimbabwe’s police cells, and the fear of police brutality while in detention, force many civil society activists to pay the fine and accept guilt for crimes they have not committed to secure a quick release. The deliberate misuse of the MOA by the police leads to the arrest and detention of activists even for the peaceful exercise of their basic rights. It also allows the police to avoid a judicial review of the legal grounds for the arrest, and constitutes an abuse of police power. Arbitrary arrest and detention of NCA and WOZA activists Repeated incidents of arrest and detention of civil society activists are exemplified by the case of two non-governmental organizations, the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA). Members of these two organizations appear to have been targeted for their public criticism of the government’s policies, and in the case of the NCA for its perceived alliance to the political opposition. In the past year the police have on numerous occasions arrested members of the NCA throughout the country (the numbers arrested amount to several hundred).34 The authorities have then either released without charge or dropped all charges against the NCA activists taken into custody; Columbus Mavunga, information officer for the NCA, told Human Rights Watch that none of the NCA’s members has been 33 Miscellaneous Offences Act of Zimbabwe, 1964. The MOA provides for the punishment of a broad range of offenses including penalties for “riotous or indecent conduct,” “threatening or abusive behavior,” or conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace. 34 On May 11, 2006, 41 members of the NCA were arrested in Harare during demonstrations calling for a new constitution in Zimbabwe. On July 12 the NCA held demonstrations in Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo, Gweru, and Masvingo. In Mutare 14 people were arrested and 128 people were arrested in Harare. The state did not pursue charges against them. In September demonstrations were held in Mutare, Bulawayo, Gweru, and Masvingo, with 170 people being arrested in Mutare. In Harare, the demonstrations did not take place because four activists were detained. 13 Human rights watch November 2006