19 intensified and became even more targeted. All officials involved in the electoral process from all contesting parties were required by law to have their names and identification particulars published in the local press, and after the elections. Such opposition officials were actively sought by the youth militia, frequently assisted by state security services, and then abducted and tortured. Many of these people are still not able to return to their homes and are living in Zimbabwe as refugees, or internally displaced people. 7.2 The Evidence of Torture This section summarizes the information relating to 180 cases of torture. The cases themselves will be given in an accompanying dossier which will be submitted to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, the UN Commission on Human Rights, and a number of the UN Special Rapportours on Torture. The 180 patients presented in the dossier represent the patients who sought medical help from Amani, from January 2002, when the violence noticeably increased. They sought help from Amani either because of their injuries or because they were unable to get help elsewhere. These patients were all assessed by the clinical team during the course of their treatment. It is by no means a dossier of all the victims of organized violence in the five month period around the elections. Many people did not seek medical help because of fear, and many patients did not reach Harare. Amani has over 570 documented cases over the same period that were seen in other medical facilities around the country, which gives a total 750 people requiring medical attention over the first five months of 2002 because of their perceived political beliefs. Over the week around the elections in March 9 people required hospitalization for their injuries from torture in Harare, and there were more than 10 in other centers. It should be noted here that there were virtually no such reports during the 2000 Parliamentary Elections. As indicated above the violence did not cease after the Presidential election , and, over the month of March 70 people sought medical help in Harare, with over 120 in other centers. As can be seen from Table 20 below, the injuries associated with torture were characteristic of systematic torture. Beatings were clearly the most common form of torture, but other types were also reported. It is significant that falanga was commonly reported (19%), as this has not been a common form in previous decades and has only recently become widespread in its use. A large number of torture victims (19%) required hospital admission due to the severity of their injuries, with many requiring either special surgery or orthopedic treatment. Table 20. Percentage occurrence of various forms of injury associated with torture. INJURY Beatings Falanga Requiring hospital admission Skeletal injuries Burns Stab wounds Ruptured ear drums % OCCURRENCE 97% 19% 19% 7% 7% 6% 5% In Mashonaland East there were three instances of branding of victims, all done by the same gang, where the initials of the opposition party were carved into the victim’s back. One of these cases was widely reported at the time. It is evident from the injuries themselves that these were due to torture and not to injuries sustained during violent fights. The beatings were mainly confined to the back and the buttocks, and were generally consistent with the victims allegations that they had been compelled to lie AMANI TRUST: Beating your opposition. Torture during the 2002 Presidential campaign in Zimbabwe.