JURIST - Paper Chase: Over 400 Zimbabwe opposition supporters arrested since disputed election: MDC

[JURIST] More than 400 supporters of the Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website] have been detained and more than 3,000 families displaced since the March 29 election [JURIST report], MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti said Sunday. Biti also said that more than 10 people have been killed in post-election violence and that another 500 supporters have been hospitalized since the election, in which MDC opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai [BBC profile] claims to have won more votes than current president Robert Mugabe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Mugabe has demanded a recount, which Tsvangirai condemned as "illegal" [JURIST reports] after it began Saturday. The MDC won 109 seats in the country's 210-seat assembly in the original count.

On Thursday, Mugabe and the ZANU-PF accused [JURIST report] Tsvangirai of treason, saying he was conspiring with Britain to overthrow Mugabe. Zimbabwean police arrested at least 30 MDC members [JURIST report] this week after the party called for a strike to protest the nondisclosure of the presidential election results. The police said that the MDC supporters were arrested for blocking roads and traffic and attempting to intimidate people from going to work after police announced a ban on all political rallies [JURIST report]. AP has more.

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