HRW urges Zambia to 'end rights crackdown', release detainees

Human Rights Watch accused Zambian authorities Monday of political repression after elections in August, including the detention of the opposition leader arrested more than two months ago.

President Hakainde Hichilema comfortably won a second term in August 13 polls that were marred by allegations of intimidation and the suspension of counting.

The day after the vote, security forces raided the home of opposition leader Brian Mundubile and arrested 11 people. A former cabinet minister was shot dead.

Mundubile, who came a distant second in the vote, was arrested on August 27 with his running mate and charged with treason and seditious practices.

The charges related to allegations the pair intended to "raise discontent or disaffection" by claiming on social media that the opposition had won the vote, HRW said.

"The Zambian police and military forcibly disappeared, arbitrarily detained, beat and threatened opposition members and supporters as well as lawyers, journalists and government critics in the days before and after general elections," the international rights monitor said.

It called for an independent investigation into the raid on Mundubile's home.

In a report based on interviews with detainees and their relatives and lawyers, HRW said some had implicated Zambia's military in arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances.

There were also claims of assault and torture, including waterboarding, it said.

"The Zambian government needs to end its brazen human rights crackdown," deputy Africa director Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz said.

The authorities should "allow access to lawyers and provide medical care for those in detention, release everyone arbitrarily detained, and ensure accountability for abuses by security forces", the statement said.

The government has not disclosed how many people are in detention, it added.

Among those rounded up were opposition-linked election monitors and musicians who performed at an opposition rally.

Adding to claims of increasing repression in the copper-rich southern African country, authorities on September 11 cancelled the passports of six government critics while they were out of the country.

On September 28, the Catholic archbishop of Lusaka -- an outspoken supporter of Mundubile -- was arrested.

Hichilema's first term was also marked by concerns over political freedoms, with opposition parties and civil society groups accusing his government of curbing dissent, allegations the government has rejected.