My life is ruined, my home is destroyed and my son’s life was taken in cold blood.24 Abigail Chiroto – Wife of MDC Councilor Emmanuel Chiroto, Harare Abigail Chiroto, 27, and her four-year-old son were abducted from their home by a group of alleged ZANU- PF militia on June 16. The alleged kidnappers later abandoned Chiroto’s son at a nearby police station unharmed. Abigail Chiroto’s body was eventually found on a farm in Borrowdale, Harare. Emmanuel Chiroto’s nephew Jim Rudairo, who spoke to neighbors who witnessed the abduction of Chiroto’s son, spoke to Human Rights Watch about the abduction and killing: The ZANU-PF militia went to my uncle’s house looking for him. When they failed to find him they petrol-bombed the house and took his wife and son. The abductors abandoned the boy at Borrowdale police station unharmed, but two days later Abigail’s body was found at a farm in Borrowdale. My uncle is in hiding and was not even able to bury his wife as the people who killed his wife may still be looking for him. The police are not offering any protection; in fact they have been harassing well-wishers who came to bury Abigail. We buried Abigail on June 25. No one witnessed her murder but her skull was crushed and we have no idea what instrument was used.25 Politically Motivated Arrests, Detentions and Police Harassment of MDC MPs Between March 29 and June 27, 2008, the police brought criminal charges against up to 20 newly elected MDC MPs and senators. Some are in detention, some have been released with charges pending, and others are in hiding, wanted by the police. Human Rights Watch believes that many of the charges are politically motivated, and designed to instill fear in the minds of the MPs and prevent them from taking their seats in the House of Assembly and Senate.26 24 Human Rights Watch interview with Nelia Chironga, Harare, June 30, 2008. 25 Human Rights Watch interview with Jim Rudairo, Harare, June 28, 2008. 26 Constitution of Zimbabwe, 1979. Sections 41, 42 and 43 of the Constitution provide that a member forfeits his or her seat if absent from 21 consecutive sittings during any session without the leave of the Senate or the House of Assembly, and if the House concerned resolves, by the affirmative votes of more than one-half of its total membership, that seat shall become 13 Human Rights Watch August 2008