IV. Excessive Use of Force by Police during Demonstrations Police use of excessive force against unarmed and peaceful demonstrators in Zimbabwe has become a common occurrence, and recent demonstrations by unarmed peaceful protesters have been met with great heavy-handedness. On several occasions during the course of arrests police have forced protesters to lie on their stomachs or sit down, and beaten them with batons and in some cases rifle butts.5 The assault and arrest of peaceful demonstrators appear to be designed to harass and deter the activists from engaging in the right to freely assemble and express their views. As one activist pointed out, “They are sending us a clear message. If you demonstrate, this is what you get.”6 On September 13, 2006, close to 130 members of the mass trade union organization the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) were arrested during peaceful demonstrations throughout the country against poor working conditions and government economic and political policies.7 Video footage of a demonstration in Harare obtained by Human Rights Watch shows police beating unarmed trade unionists with batons before bundling them into a van and a truck (for the subsequent torture and mistreatment of 15 of these detainees at Harare’s Matapi police station, see Section VI, below). Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, was one of 13 trade unionists arrested and taken to Harare Central police station during the September 13 demonstrations. He told Human Rights Watch: About seven of us were marching along the road when the police came and told us to stop. They started beating people up with baton sticks and made them sit down. I asked them “Why are you beating us? What have we done wrong?” Then they started forcing people into a police 5 Human Rights Watch interviews with NCA activists and medical personnel (names withheld), Harare, September 26 and October 4, 2006. 6 Human Rights Watch interview with NCA activist (name withheld), Harare, September 26, 2006. 7 Human Rights Watch interview with Tafadzwa Mugabe, human rights lawyer, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Harare, September 22; with Alec Muchadehama, October 4; and with Raymond Majongwe, secretary general, Progressive Students Union of Zimbabwe, October 2, 2006. 7 Human rights watch November 2006