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| - Police in Zimbabwe arrested an opposition leader and an outspoken investigative journalist on Monday ahead of anti-government and anti-graft protests planned for July 31, lawyers and police said. The two were arrested separately in the capital Harare in a seemingly coordinated operation. "We confirm both Hopewell Chin'ono and Jacob Ngarivhume are at the law and order section at Harare central police station," Rose Hanzi, director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, told AFP. Police spokesman Paul Nyathi said in statement that the duo had been arrested on suspicion of "contravening incitement to participate in public violence". A video clip recorded at the journalist's house showed the remains of the glass door that police smashed to bust in and arrest him. His lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said she had received "an SOS that his home had been surrounded by about eight state security agents. They broke the glass at the door and gained entry." Government spokesman Nick Mangwana tweeted that "journalists are not above the law". "Anyone suspected to have committed a crime should be subjected to due process," he tweeted a few hours after the arrests. Chin'ono, 49, is an independent award-winning film documentary filmmaker who has previously worked for various international news organisations. He is openly critical of the Harare administration and regularly posts commentary on social media about political and economic developments in the southern African country. Ngarivhume is president of a small opposition party, Transform Zimbabwe. He has called on Zimbabweans to protest against state corruption and the deteriorating economic situation on July 31. On the eve on his arrest he tweeted: "When I proposed a national demonstration I knew the risks". The protest date is the second anniversary of a general election that was tainted by accusations of fraud and was won by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. A day later troops opened fired on protesters in Harare, killing at least six people, even before the results were announced. The latest arrests come as police intensify a crackdown on members of the public for violating coronavirus lockdown regulations. Police said on the weekend that more than 104,000 people had been arrested for various breaches since the lockdown was imposed on March 30. Critics accuse government of hiding behind the coronavirus crisis to thwart the looming protests. "The government has arrested more people than they have tested (for coronavirus)," Rashid Mahiya, head of civic rights grouping Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition told AFP. A total of 101,375 COVID-19 tests have been carried out so far. He said people are being forced to venture outdoors due to a lack of government relief for impoverished people. Poverty is deepening among many Zimbabweans, with UN aid agencies saying some 7.7 million people, or half of the population, require food assistance. Mahiya said Zimbabwe's economy is predominantly informal, forcing people to venture out, and "if we just sit at home more people will die of hunger than the deadly disease". The British embassy said it was following "closely" reports of Chin'ono and Ngarivhume's arrests, urging "the authorities to follow the rule of law and uphold media freedoms and freedom of speech". The US embassy in Harare tweeted about Chin'ono's arrest saying it was "deeply concerned for his welfare". str-fj-sn/dl
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