THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT |ZIMBABWE I 2017 (ZBC) staffers were allegedly assaulted on the 15th and 16th of November during the military coup. For fear of losing employment or further victimization, victims have been unwilling to make formal reports. The creation of the Ministry of Cyber Security,Threat Detection and Mitigation was a highlight for the year. Presidential Spokesperson, George Charamba, appraised the nation that the new Ministry was aimed at “protecting the nation from cyber threats posed by the abuse of social media and to catch the rats that do mischief in cyberspace.” Former President Mugabe added his voice by urging the then responsible minister to learn from the so called ‘‘success stories’’ of nations such as North Korea, Russia and China that have been able to stifle social media. Respect for Civil Liberties Under this section, we document violations of rights focusing on freedom of assembly and association, freedom to demonstrate and petition and freedom of expression and of the media. These rights are all constitutionally guaranteed in sections 58, 59, 61 and 66 respectively. In practice, the most important human rights problems remained government’s reluctance to respect civil liberties especially rights relating to freedom of association, assembly, and expression and of the media. The first victim of this short ministry now falling under the Ministry of Media, Information and Communication Technology and Cyber Security was an American journalist Martha O’ Donovan. Martha was arrested on the 2nd of November on charges of abuse of social media for retweeting a tweet insulting the then President Mugabe. Donovan was released on 04 January 2018. The State was ordered to proceed by way of summons if it intends to pursue prosecution of the journalist. Freedom of expression and of the media The right to freedom of expression and of the media was under serious threat in 2017. There were no media reforms necessary to align the law with the Constitution. There was increased repression and silencing of journalists. Journalists were assaulted during the scope of their employment. State media remained captured by ZANU-PF, which manipulated it for its own benefits. The Forum documented eleven cases in relation to freedom of expression and of the media. MISAZimbabwe documented eight cases of journalists who were assaulted during their duties. However, the 2017 statistics might be higher than documented as there are reports that Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Zimbabweans holding a flag with candles outside the Harare Magestrate court during the trial of #ThisFlag leader Evan Mawarire in 2016 Pic Shepherd Tozvireva 25