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Amnesty International orders Mugabe to release Pastor Mawarire
27 Jun 2017 at 16:12hrs | Views
Amnesty Interntional has called for the immediate and unconditional release of a Zimbabwean human rights campaigner and #ThisFlag protest leader Evan Mawarire.
Mr Mawarire, a pastor, was arrested on Monday for addressing a group of medical students protesting fee increases on the country's largest campus. The demonstration turned violent.
He is charged with disorderly conduct in public and is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
Mawarire says he was simply praying with the students.
In a statement, Amnesty says the arrest shows that the protest leader continues to be targeted by a government bent on criminalising him for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
In January this year, Mawarire was arrested and charged with subversion and "insulting the national flag of Zimbabwe." He was later released on bail.
He is the Founder of the #ThisFlag movement and led several anti-government protests in 2016 against corruption and the declining economy.
Mr Mawarire, a pastor, was arrested on Monday for addressing a group of medical students protesting fee increases on the country's largest campus. The demonstration turned violent.
He is charged with disorderly conduct in public and is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
In a statement, Amnesty says the arrest shows that the protest leader continues to be targeted by a government bent on criminalising him for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
In January this year, Mawarire was arrested and charged with subversion and "insulting the national flag of Zimbabwe." He was later released on bail.
He is the Founder of the #ThisFlag movement and led several anti-government protests in 2016 against corruption and the declining economy.
Source - BBC
