Respect for Civil Liberties Including: a. Freedom of speech and press: policy and legislative developments, violence and harassment of journalists, censorship or content restrictions, misinformation, libel laws/national security, internet freedom, access to information, academic freedom and cultural events, b. Freedom of peaceful assembly and association, citizenship etc. Summary The new constitution guarantees civil liberties including freedom of speech, press and media and assembly and association. However there were on going serious human rights abuses, including tight control of electronic media and further controls on mobile telephone communications. Legislative and institutional reform was not a priority for the government and repressive laws such as POSA and AIPPA continued to be used selectively by unreformed state institutions and actors to prevent constitutional freedoms from being exercised due to lack of political will and failure to censure heavy-handed action whenever it occurred. There were attacks on the media, judges and lawyers, use of repressive laws against targeted civil society organizations (CSOs) and human rights defenders (HRDs) and criminalization of free speech. There were 60 cases in which section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act was arbitrarily applied on individuals who were charged with allegedly “insulting or undermining the authority of the President” since 2010. The sustained and escalating assault on NGOs involved in civic education, human rights monitoring, public outreach and service provision – all of which are lawful activities and noble endeavours were highlighted by local NGOs. Free protests where quashed and met with disproportionate force. In detail 2a. Freedom of Speech and of the Press The section on specific violations was compiled mainly for information obtained from the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (“MMPZ”) while ZLHR and VERITAS Trust contributed to the section on policy-related developments, with additional supplements from the editor. The section outlines developments that occurred between January 2013 and December 2013, which impinge or are likely to impinge on the public’s freedom of expression rights. These include freedom of speech and of the press: policy and legislative developments, violence and harassment of journalists, censorship or content restrictions, misinformation, libel laws/national security, internet freedom, access to information, academic freedom and cultural events. MMPZ’s recorded violations are based on violations reported in the media and other sources such as partner organisations like the Media Institute of Southern Africa (“MISA”). A violation of freedom of information entails anything that unjustifiably stifles the public’s access to information by, for example, 28