year-old man told Human Rights Watch how a group of suspected ZANU-PF supporters attacked him in his home on the night of April 11: l noticed that my neighbor’s hut was on fire, more people [ZANU-PF supporters] came from a maize field where they were hiding. They were more than 20 in number and dragged me about 500 meters from my hut. There they began beating me with wooden logs on the buttocks for at least 20 minutes. They burnt down my hut, together with a heap of maize and sorghum. They also stole my sewing machine and radio. They said l was a friend of an MDC activist and therefore must also be an MDC activist myself who must be punished for helping to betray the country. One of the people was shouting saying, “You sell-out, why did you vote for MDC?” Those who beat me said ZANU-PF would not tolerate sell-outs; among them were two women who also participated in beating me. As a result of the beatings l fractured my left arm and suffered badly swollen fingers.26 In Mutoko, Mashonaland East on the night of April 10, ZANU-PF supporters brutally beat about 20 men suspected of voting for the MDC before the entire village. A 45year-old man told Human Rights Watch that the ZANU-PF supporters used whips, chains and iron bars to beat him and they broke his left leg below the knee. They repeatedly said that his “crime” was that he voted for the MDC during the elections.27 Incitement and Organization of the Violence As in the elections of 2000 and 2002, the post-election violence in 2008 did not arise spontaneously. Human Rights Watch has credible evidence that senior security officers at the local and national level of government are organizing and inciting the violence. Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed more than 60 victims and eyewitnesses who implicated by name local headsmen, ZANU-PF councilors, MPs and supporters who were working closely with senior ranking army officers, police and prison officers, and agents from the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO). 26 Human Rights Watch interview with 41-year-old man, Harare, April 17, 2008. 27 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, April 17, 2008. 17 Human Rights Watch 2008