15 The case below is illustrative of torture practices in Zimbabwe, this time by the Central Intelligence Organization [CIO]: Medical Case [2001] The victim alleges that he and a group of others were arrested by the riot police in Bikita. They were told that they would be taken back to Harare but they were handed over to the CIO who took them to Zaka police station where they made statements and were photographed. He claims that he was taken to a room alone, where they beat him with a rifle butt, a broom stick, baton sticks, slaps and he was kicked. He claims that he was beaten mostly under the feet with a broomstick and gun butt. He claims that he was slapped on the face and kicked a lot on the chest for a total of 2 days. He alleges that they were taken to court on a Monday 8th of January and they were charged with public violence. Torture has also been used by the Zimbabwe National Army, not necessarily on persons in lawful detention. Additionally, the probability of torture increases if the person is seen as political dissident, but interestingly falanga is not necessarily associated with the political nature of the case. Here we can refer to the case below, where falanga was used in a non-political investigation in an attempt to force a confession, and there is even a newspaper report of the use of torture against minors,38 but a more common occurrence can be seen in the case shown below. Human Rights Forum [Case:11429/03] The victim was arrested on allegations of theft, a charge that he denied. He was taken to Machipisa Police Station where he was assaulted with baton sticks in order to induce a confession. He was also beaten under the soles of his feet. He was detained for two days and then moved to Stoddart Police Station where he was further detained. He sued for damages and the matter settled out of court. 38 ‘Police probe detectives' assault of schoolchildren’, Nqobani Ndlovu, Zimbabwe Standard, 24 September 2006. Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. Only bruises on the soles of their feet. The use of Falanga by the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

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