Harare lawyer 'beaten by police'

By Grant Ferret
BBC News

Mrs Mtetwa tried to stop foreign journalists being deported

Zimbabwe's police say they are investigating allegations by a leading human rights lawyer that she was assaulted by a police officer.

The International Bar Association described the alleged attack as further evidence of the collapse of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.

Beatrice Mtetwa has become well-known in Zimbabwe, not least for her work representing foreign journalists expelled by the government.

She called the police when her car was hijacked by thieves for the second time in less than two weeks.

She says that instead of helping her, one of the officers identified her as a government critic, and began punching her.

Downward spiral

Mrs Mtetwa says the assault continued when she was questioned at a police station.

Police spokesman, Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena, said any policeman who had committed an offence would be prosecuted.

Zimbabwe police have a poor human rights record

He added, though, that Beatrice Mtetwa would herself face drink-driving charges.

The Zimbabwe Law Society said the alleged assault was particularly distressing because it followed two other similar attacks against its members in recent months.

The case has also attracted the attention of the International Bar Association.

It said the incident provided a graphic demonstration of the role of the police in abetting the abandonment of the law in Zimbabwe, and marked a further frightening development in the country's downward spiral.