27 7. Strengthening Human Rights Defenders 7.1 Provision of Legal Support Services 7.1.1 Emergency Legal Support Services 99 268 HRDs assisted were from Harare province, 72 from Manicaland and 40 from Matabeleland south. Most of the HRDs were charged with violating the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, with the majority of them being individuals not affiliated to any organisation. Through its emergency and follow up legal services, ZLHR reached out to beneficiaries in outlying areas such ZLHR chairperson Beatrice Mtetwa leaves the High Court in the company of colleagues after attending a hearing on the appeal against the not guilty verdict that had been passed by the Magistrates Court in her case ZLHR Annual Report 2015 The interventions offered a safety net for human rights defenders who were in conflict with the law as a result of their peaceful activities. The emergency and follow up legal services by HRDs ensured that the protection and safety of HRDs was guaranteed and that they were better able to continue with their work. ZLHR also implemented a number of risk management trainings for HRDs to ensure that they were able to manage or mitigate incidents that could potentially disrupt their programming.